


heal the woof (not a woof)

by lady-serendipity (JenZz)



Category: EXO (Band), Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Immortals, M/M, Mages, Magic, Slavery, Slow Burn, Stormwings - Freeform, former slave!Chanyeol, minor side pairings, some magical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-27 21:26:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15033647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenZz/pseuds/lady-serendipity
Summary: Prompt# S006: Shapeshifter!Chanyeol got hurt and was stuck in his animal form, and was taken in by Yixing. As time goes by, Chanyeol is slowly able to regain his ability to change back into human form, but the problem is that he doesn't want to leave Yixing.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s a [map of the Tortallan universe](http://tamorapierce.wikia.com/wiki/Tortallan_Universe)! I mostly used the map in the first few pages of [Tempests and Slaughter](https://www.amazon.com/Tempests-Slaughter-Numair-Chronicles-Book/dp/0375847111) as reference though. **Important:** I’ve done my best to write this so you don’t need any prior knowledge of Tamora Pierce’s works, but I hope I’ve left enough nuggets for those of you who have. For my sanity though, I'm assuming events happened closer than they actually did. So don't think too hard about it, we'll say Chanyeol's 26 and Yixing is 20.
> 
> Thank you mods for creating a group chat! That was a cute idea and I loved all the shared pictures of animals. 
> 
> Another necessary thanks to my new roommate's dogs Ted and Jessie, who helped me make Chanyeol more real. 
> 
> The real MVPs - thanks to my lovely army of betas (because you're becoming an army guys), Joyce, Aurin, Jaimie, Mod Kitty. Aurin gets creds for the dumb title LOL I liked it so much especially since it fits with the cadence of [Wolf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAal8xHfV0c).
> 
> Finally OP, this might not be exactly what you were expecting but I really really do hope you enjoy <3!!

Yixing wiped the sweat off of his forehead and stood up to stretch. A falcon - one of his favorites - stirred briefly to glare at him, silently demanding that he be given food. “You already got some,” he lightly admonished the bird, but he gave him more anyway. He was too much of a softie, and the falcons knew.

He shivered, drawing his cloak tighter around him. Though it was only just September, the air was already frigid in small Snowsdale in the mountains of northern Galla. Much colder than where he had been born, but Yixing had always preferred the quiet. He’d learned at school, at the City of the Gods, that quiet was usually accompanied by cold.

The City of the Gods, set in the mountains at the northern border of Tortall, was where the Gifted learned magic. The peace and quiet of those mountains were a great contrast to Corus, the capital and largest city of Tortall and Yixing’s hometown. He knew his parents disliked how far away he lived, especially by the way his mother, Daine Salmalín, would encourage her flying friends to air-drop him smelly reminders to write letters.

He had dreaded the day he would be handed his mastery, set free and lost. The only way forward he could see was to return to Corus and enter the Tortallan service. Yixing would have to follow in his parents’ and older sister’s footsteps and protect Tortall with his magic. After all, the Mithran priests had found a knack for war magic in him, just like his father Numair Salmalín, particularly where fire was involved. From the very beginning, he had struggled to control even the simplest of fires.

Corus was as far from quiet as one could get. Dirty, smelly, hectic. Plus, he’d seen too much of what it could do to a person. The responsibility wore on a person and took them away from their loved ones again and again. His parents had tried their best to give him and his sister their time, but they could not ignore the call of duty, fighting wars and wearing their exhaustion in the folds of the wrinkles on their face. Now his sister Sarra and his godsiblings followed in their footsteps.

He felt guilty as the only exception to the rule, disloyal for wanting something different. Something more removed from war, less destructive. Though he didn’t have a particular talent for healing, he was good enough with wild magic for animals, and with his Gift for humans.

If he closed his eyes he could see the amber of his Gift from his father, and the copper of his wild magic from his mother. The colors looked so similar, yet were so different. Sarra could shapeshift, having inherited much more wild magic. Yixing had to content himself with only talking to those with whom his sister and mother had previously spoken. The Mithran priests exclaimed at the unique mixture of magic, and Yixing could see they too wanted him to be great.

It wasn’t until one Midsummer’s Day, when the Divine and Mortal Realms intersected, that his grandmother suggested he go to Snowsdale. Sarra Beneksri was Daine’s mother and also The Green Lady of Northern Galla - a goddess of healing and childbirth. She had not always been a god, though Daine’s father had - Weiryn, god of the hunt and of the forest. After Sarra’s death at the hands of bandits, Weiryn had appealed to the Great Gods to bring her into the Divine Realms and watch over Snowsdale.

“I hear your prayers to be different, to live in a mountain community,” his grandmother had told him kindly. He bit his lip, keeping tears at bay and nodding. 

“I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes sense. But… I’m scared to tell them,” he confessed. “My parents will think I’m crazy.”

“Well I for one think it is a wonderful idea. I’ll talk to her for you, you’ll see, Kash.” Kash was short for Rikash, Rikash Salmalín. That had been Yixing’s name before he had chosen a more flashy, Jindazhen-inspired mage name for himself. “I’ll be able to be with you more, and Daine can’t deny my wishes for that.” His grandmother kissed him on the head before walking away, disappearing into mist.

Though the mist remained, it had felt like his mind was cleared. His future was known; he could release his dread around returning to Corus. He left for Corus the next day, and finally told his parents and older sister. To his surprise, they accepted it with an air of resignation. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?” Daine said, sighing. Her eyebrows were knitted, though she clearly wanted to stay supportive. 

“Yeah, that’s where they almost killed Ma,” Sarra burst out and then looked at their mother, guilty. Daine’s childhood years of sudden loneliness and forced survival sometimes still haunted her and were not to be spoken of lightly. Once the bandits had killed Daine’s mother and grandfather, Daine had gotten her revenge by living amongst the wolves and hunting the bandits down. In turn, the people of Snowsdale had shown their gratitude by trying to hunt _Daine_ down. 

Both Yixing and Sarra tried not to bring it up, but Daine’s face only reflected Sarra’s worry and nothing darker to indicate she’d been thinking about her past. Yixing looked down. It was almost worse in a way, that his mother pushed aside her bad memories and only worried for him. 

But he had to. “I know, but…” he hesitated, and then continued, “I have a feeling it’s where I need to be. Ma, please understand. You’ve got your hands full anyway, Sarra’ll be everywhere with the Riders, and Da’ll be with his studies.” 

“That’s not….” his mother began to protest, but then pursed her lips. It was true, now that both of Daine’s children had grown up she’d resumed her full duties to the kingdom. The Queen’s Riders were called to all corners of the country whenever needed, and Sarra was already leaving tomorrow for Port Legann. And his father, well, Numair had always loved his books a little too much.

“And it’s been years, they must have changed by now. Plus, I can see—”

“I know, I know. She told us already,” Daine interrupted with a grimace. It was never a good idea to invoke the gods by name, even if they were family. Especially if they were family. “I want to support you, I wish I could be happier about it.” She took Yixing’s hands in her own, and locked her blue-gray eyes with Yixing’s. “You better visit, and write often. Don’t forget about us, Kash—Yixing.”

“I won’t, Ma,” Yixing warbled through the sudden tears at his mother, realizing he would no longer be able to depend on his parents and older sister like he had all his life.

He turned to his still pouting sister and opened his arms. She rushed into them, almost tackling him off-balance. “Just… be careful, alright?” she whispered before drawing back.

Yixing smiled wryly at his older sister. “I should be saying that to you. You’re the one marching into battles and skirmishes left and right.”

“Hey,” she retorted indignantly, “that’s not the only thing Riders do.”

“I know, just teasing. I’ll write, I’ll visit as much as I can. And I love you.” He looked at his father, who had been quiet the whole time. “Da?”

Numair smiled at his son. “Just thinking. And praying. Whenever there’s such a strong feeling, almost a pull, it means that the gods may be involved, beyond Daine’s parents.” He ruffled Yixing’s hair, jet-black and messy like his own. “Remember to be polite.”

“Yes, Da,” Yixing smiled at him in relief, glad that at least one person had easily accepted.

That had been almost a year ago. Yixing had found it difficult to keep up with communications. The letters only got read and written and delivered so quickly, and there was surprisingly much to do in Snowsdale.

Though it was a mountain village, the local noble family of Byun had pulled in more and more trade, becoming richer in the years Daine had been away. Snowsdale had become more of a town, built around serving the Byun Castle and its surrounding population. The unstable headsman that had ordered Daine’s death had been replaced by the Byun family’s head.

Yixing had quickly found work with Nakk Falconer, Hakkon Falconer’s son. He gladly accepted it, because it was something to keep him busy. He also took up the position of on-call assistant to the local hedgewitch, knowing his healing powers would come in handy. Tales of Daine’s feats had traveled even to backwoods Snowsdale, and the villagers had wanted to make amends for past wrongdoings. 

That didn’t necessarily mean they wanted to be friends. Though Yixing liked the isolation, he did miss the easy camaraderie he’d had with Sarra, his godsiblings, and the rest of Corus. They would bring him to events, insist on his presence. Here, he didn’t have many friends besides the animals who brought him boons from time to time. 

Though Yixing hadn’t inherited enough wild magic to talk to every animal and shapeshift into them like his mother and sister, he had just enough for healing animals. His Gift could be used for healing people, but it exhausted him more than his wild magic some days. Besides, the animals showed their gratefulness more than the humans did.

He snapped to attention when Nakk called his name. Moving to the entrance of the mews, he called, “Yes? In here!”

“Oh, glory, there ye are.” Nakk looked almost nervous, but Yixing couldn’t put a finger on why. “Thank Mithros. Them’s…” he shudders, drawing the three-lined Sign against evil on his chest. “Them’s wolves at th’ well.”

“Wolves—oh, Goddess, I’ll be back.” Yixing moved quickly past Nakk, bowing as he did. 

Nakk called after him, “Nay, take th’ rest o’ th’ day. I can more’n handle it here.”

Yixing broke into a run from the castle. Never stopping for breath, it was still a good fifteen minutes before Yixing made it out of the castle, through town, and into the town square.

Sure enough, three wolves stood in front of the well. All three of them were black and gray timber, with matching plumed tails currently twitching back and forth in wariness. They were clearly uncomfortable, despite there being no human in sight. It was, after all, against their better judgment to approach human dwellings. At least the square remained conspicuously empty - perhaps the villagers remembered the last time wolves were in town.

The largest, Junmyeon, padded to meet Yixing halfway, almost knocking him down. Yixing sighed in happiness under Junmyeon’s quick sniffing before snapping to reality. Leaning back, he frowned at the sight. Now the villagers would really dislike him rather than feigning indifference. He sighed. Yixing tried so hard to be normal. 

“Junmyeon, couldn’t you have waited at my cottage?” Junmyeon’s grandsires were Brokefang and Frostfur, wolves that had helped his mother in the past. The wild magic influence from their interactions with her had been so strong that even two generations later, Junmyeon was still in tune with Yixing. 

The alpha male snapped at him, _No, I couldn’t have. This one is dying_. He and the two other wolves—Sehun and Jongin, his oldest pups—moved out of the way to reveal a broken and battered dog, weakly whimpering in pain. _I would have left him to die_ , Junmyeon continued, _but I knew you would want to save him_. Someone made a noise of distress—faintly, Yixing realized it was him as he rushed to the dog’s side, already readying his healing magic. 

“Thank you,” he told Junmyeon, voice shaking slightly as he took the hound into his arms. It was dying but somehow Yixing’s wild magic resisted his push, no matter how hard he tried to coax it to work. That was strange and frustrating. Yixing had no time to think about what that meant, and dipped into the golden amber of his Gift instead. His magical self began searching the dog and carefully picked out the black clouds of infection hanging about exposed wounds.

He concentrated hard, commanding his Gift to heal. Ignoring the roaring in his ears, it still felt like hours before Yixing came back to himself. “Bright Mother Goddess,” he cursed in realization, “we’re still in the center of town.” He took a calming breath, ignoring the alarming spots in his vision, and turned to the nearest wolf. Sehun stared at him with wide eyes. “Sehun, can you help me stand? I don’t think my legs are obeying me right now.”

Sehun yipped in acquiescence, lending his strength to help push Yixing to his feet. He yawned, feeling ready to collapse. Yixing had only meant to use a bit of his magic, but he always miscalculated how quickly his Gift drained away when used for healing. Stumbling forward, he was met with a reassuringly solid shoulder. “Yixing?” he vaguely recognized his friend saying before his ears roared and he fainted into the young nobleman’s arms.

_____________________

Pain. All he can feel is pain. It was a bad decision to turn into a dog but it was much too late now. He could only hope that wherever the wolves were bringing him, they would give him a quick death. Punishment for being on their territory, perhaps?

His vision was so fuzzed out with pain that he closed his eyes. He had time enough to send one last prayer to the Black God to treat him kindly when he gets there. But the voice that greeted him was not that of the Black God. Instead he heard, _Not yet, sweetling. I can finally have my fun with you_ , before passing out into merciful darkness.

_____________________

When Yixing awakened, he yelled, “Puppy!” His shout startled the man dozing off beside him into almost falling off his chair. He winced at the aches in his body, but they weren’t as bad as he thought they would be.

“Mithros, Yixing,” Baekhyun breathed, putting a hand on his thumping heart, “you scared the living daylights out of me.” Baekhyun was the son and heir of the Byun family, but he had been familiar with Yixing since the beginning because they were the same age, twenty-one. 

And because he was unusual for a noble, at least a Gallan one. Baekhyun was well-traveled, having run off to join the Players as an adolescent. It was the only way Baekhyun’s family got used to him associating with people from all walks of life, his parents finally striking a bargain for him to come home and have a tutor, but placing no restrictions on who he could talk to. Baekhyun had the leverage as the only child of the Byun family.

He was one of the few Yixing could call friend here. “Hello to you too, Baekhyun,” he said, accepting the cup of water Baekhyun handed him. Sipping it, Yixing took stock of the situation. He was back in his modest home in the outskirts of Snowsdale, with an anxious Baekhyun staring at him. “Um, where’s the puppy?”

Smiling wryly at him, Baekhyun said, “No thanks for dragging your sorry self to your house? The dog is fine, I’ve put him in the corner of your room.”

Yixing’s eyes followed the direction of Baekhyun’s finger and his shoulders sagged in relief when he recognized the curled up form of the dog the wolves had brought to him. “Oh Great Mother. How is he?”

“It looks like you put him in a healing sleep before you passed out yourself. He will be fine for now, but you!” Baekhyun fixed a stern look at Yixing, who reluctantly made eye contact with him. “That was fair foolish of you! You are no fledgling mage, what possessed you to almost sacrifice your life?”

He felt a bit sheepish. Baekhyun was right, he was too old to fainting when healing. “In my defense, I wasn’t actually going to give away my life energy. I was using the Gift this time, not my wild magic…” he broke off with a yawn. 

Baekhyun frowned at him. “Still, for a mangy cur, you would faint in the middle of town?” he asked in disbelief, sweeping an arm in the hound’s direction. “Yixing—”

“Enough,” Yixing interrupted, shoulders stiffening at the insult, “I will take your scolding to heart, Lord Byun, but do not call the hound as such.” He loved his friend to death but his aristocratic colors did tend to shine through at inopportune moments. All beings were created equal in the eyes of the gods, were they not? “I am ever grateful for your assistance,” he recovered enough to keep within decorum.

Baekhyun deflated and sank back into the stool. “I apologize, Yixing. You scared me,” he replied after a few moments had passed. “Please forgive me for speaking so.”

Yixing could never say no to those sad, pleading eyes. “I forgave you the moment you spoke,” Yixing replied softly, taking Baekhyun’s hands into his own. He didn’t notice how Baekhyun’s cheeks took on a light blush, attention already shifting to the hound. “I do appreciate you. But if you will excuse me, I have a patient to tend to.”

He let go of Baekhyun’s hands and gingerly shifted to get out of the bed. For some reason, Baekhyun stared at his hands for a moment before moving to support Yixing in standing up. Though his legs felt wobbly, he was glad they did not betray him as they so threatened. “Thanks,” he said. “Gods be with you.”

Baekhyun hesitated at the door, hovering over the frame. “Are you sure you don’t need anything from me?” 

“Won’t your tutor be missing you?” Yixing teased weakly.

Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun said, “Oh, missing isn’t the word I’d use. Fine. Gods be with you as well, Yixing. Please let me know if you need anything.” The door swung shut behind him.

Left to his own devices, Yixing couldn’t help but approach the dog again. It was obviously a hunting dog, that strong jaw and broad chest prominent even as frail as it looked. However, standing up, it would only measure to Yixing’s knees, so it must be a scent hound - especially with that strong neck. He noted the silver collar around the dog’s neck and checked it for any marks. None were to be found. Strange. And who put a metal collar on a dog, anyway?

Letting go of the collar, he let his hand smooth down the dog’s coat, marveling at the pattern of white with reddish brown splotches. Yixing flinched when the dog whimpered in its sleep, instinctively reaching for his magic, but calmed when he realized the dog must simply be dreaming. The healing sleep was holding him fast, almost enough to make Yixing fall asleep again as he probed his own magic.

 _Chan… yeol_. The name came to him almost as animal-speak, snapping him awake, but something felt… off. Yixing frowned, puzzled, but then shrugged. He hadn’t encountered an animal as badly wounded and infected as this one, perhaps the offness was simply due to that. 

“So your name is Chanyeol?” he whispered to the hound. “It’s nice to meet you. Your injuries were quite dire, so it’ll take a while for me to heal you. I’m not sure why my wild magic isn’t working, but it means it’ll take longer. Bear with me, okay?” While wild magic pulled from the user’s body to lend strength, the Gift only restored lost health by accelerating natural healing.

A wolf yipped outside his door, interrupting his thoughts. “Coming, coming,” Yixing called out to them, and whispered, “Sleep well, little one,” before moving to the door. Opening it again, he poked his head outside and asked, “What?”

 _What, a wolf can’t worry?_ Junmyeon asked, baring his teeth. 

Yixing snorted. “You worry enough for your entire pack,” he told Junmyeon, and then hugged him. “Sorry, that was rude of me. Thank you for bringing him. It means a lot to me.”

 _You are welcome_ , Junmyeon replied, licking the side of his face. Yixing mock grimaced at him as Junmyeon lolled his tongue out in satisfaction. _Not only does my pack remember those who do good for them, I had a personal favor to repay. Consider it done._

“And Sehun and Jongin! How you’ve grown since I’ve seen you last!” Yixing remarked. The two adolescent wolves began wagging their tails, coming closer and licking him as well. “But as gross as your father,” he grumped.

 _We came along because Da thinks we are strong_ , Sehun told him self-importantly. Yixing rubbed along the reddish streak in Sehun’s fur.

 _No_ , Jongin nipped at Sehun’s ear, _we came along because he only trusts the pack alone with ma and his second-in-commands_. He butted at Yixing's hand too, sweet but demanding. Acquiescing to Jongin's demand too, Yixing inwardly marveled at how much they had grown. 

_Enough of that_ , Junmyeon said as he cuffed both of them playfully. _Time to return. Do visit us again when the Big Cold is over._

“I shall,” Yixing promised, realizing just how big a favor Junmyeon had done for him. The Big Cold, what the animals termed the winter, was something the pack especially had to spend all their energy preparing for. That Junmyeon had taken time out for giving him this hound… “Really, thank you so much.”

 _You saved these two_ , Junmyeon’s eyes glittered with memory, _I think this can only go a little in repaying you_. Yixing waved them goodbye, remembering how hard Joohyun’s labor had been, how his care and attention had paid off when a litter of two squalling pups were born at last. Only two, as the others had perished in the belly. That time, he’d passed out for much longer, but it had been worth the effort.

Shaking the memory off, Yixing returned to his cottage.

_____________________

Over the next few weeks, the hound—Yixing had taken to calling him Chanyeol—began to regain consciousness in longer and longer snatches of time. There were times when he relapsed and every time, Yixing had gotten sick with fear. He still needed to use his Gift when healing Chanyeol, but he’d gotten the hang of it. It still made him slightly wobbly each time, so Yixing couldn’t leave the cottage either. Luckily, Baekhyun insisted on sending them food.

Instead, he could focus on his letters to his family. He mentioned Chanyeol briefly, but chose to leave out his misjudgement in healing him. _No need for them to worry needlessly_. He finished the one he was writing now and rolled it up, tying it closed. 

“You’re almost as hard to heal as a human, Chanyeollie,” he crooned to Chanyeol as he scratched behind Chanyeol’s ears with his free hand. The hound stiffened for a fraction of a second, but Yixing dismissed it as his imagination when the moment disappeared just as quickly. He rubbed at his eyes, yawning. It must’ve be lack of sleep.

Sighing, he moved to open the windows, tucking the letter away. It was a brisk day, but Yixing needed to get fresh air in here somehow. Chanyeol let out a whine as the cold breeze danced around him. “Don’t worry, I’ll start a fire too,” Yixing said, heart warm as he hugged Chanyeol on the way to the fire pit. Using kindling, he started the fire the mundane way rather than use his Gift. 

“I should go back to work soon,” he muttered to himself, “I’m going crazy just talking to a dog all day.” Straightening, Yixing turned to Chanyeol and said, “No offense, of course. I am really happy you’re doing better.”

Chanyeol appraised him with his brown eyes before snuggling into the blankets on the chair. Feeling unfairly judged, Yixing stuck his tongue out at Chanyeol… only to find that the dog was looking at him again. Chuckling awkwardly, Yixing scratched his head, now feeling both childish and sheepish. “That’s that then, I’ll go to the falconer’s. Stay put,” Yixing told Chanyeol sternly.

The hound whuffled at him before nosing deeper into the blankets. He was soon fast asleep. Yixing smiled fondly at the bundle before donning a few furs and heading out into the cold. 

The walk to Byun Castle was a good twenty minutes on foot, if one set a brisk pace. Today, Yixing decided to take it a little slower, the cold clearing his mind like a good sweep of the broom. It was his first time in a while where he didn’t have to worry about Chanyeol’s health, and his own.

Yixing frowned slightly, now thinking about Chanyeol. Unlike most dogs, Chanyeol had taken a long time to mildly warm up to Yixing. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of treatment Chanyeol must have received until now, to react to a human in such a way. Yixing hoped that with his care, Chanyeol would learn that not all humans are bad. Or that Chanyeol could at least trust Yixing.

But Yixing was happy despite not having Chanyeol’s complete trust. It was something he could work towards, and plus just having Chanyeol around made him happier. Chanyeol eased the loneliness Yixing had been feeling, especially with the oncoming Big Cold making Yixing’s usual animal visitors scarce. In any case, he’s glad that Chanyeol had stumbled into his life. 

“Xing!” The voice interrupted his reverie, as did the figure barreling into Yixing’s side.

“Oof,” he said before he registered that it was Baekhyun. Yixing automatically wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, murmuring, “Hello, Baek.”

Baekhyun pouted up at him. “It’s been so long since I last—since _anyone_ last saw you.”

“I know, the falcons must miss me,” Yixing gently teased him. 

Rolling his eyes at him, Baekhyun finally detached from Yixing. “Of course the first that comes to your mind are the animals. Why am I not surprised?” 

“Would you care to accompany me?” Yixing offered his arm, an indirect apology. As always, Baekhyun accepted, and they strolled off to the mews. He caught Baekhyun up on his life, though there’s not much to say besides reporting on Chanyeol’s recovery. Still, they managed to fill the fifteen minutes before Baekhyun had to leave Yixing at the entrance of the mews. If it was up to him, Baekhyun would probably stay, but his irate tutor, Minseok, would not hear of it.

“You have skipped enough lessons, young man. No more canoodling with the falconers, they have their job too.” With a world-weary sigh, said tutor dragged Baekhyun off as he yelled promises to come back for Yixing. Amused at Baekhyun’s antics, he waved until the two turned a corner, and then entered the mews.

Nakk was already there, murmuring to the falcons as they nodded sleepily at him. Yixing had always suspected that Nakk had some of the wild magic in him too, the way Stefan at the stables had horse magic and could talk to them. One of the falcons screamed. Prepared, Yixing held up his arms as all ten of the falcons flew over and either perched on him or flew around him. Laughing, Yixing said, “I missed you too, though my clothes have certainly been happy.”

“Argh, it’s like all ye’ve never been trained before,” Nakk said, disgruntled. But his tone held a fondness that Yixing recognized. The falcons screeched at him and the two on his shoulder began to preen his hair. He winced at the rough treatment - smaller birds were so much nicer than raptors, even when the raptors meant well. Then all of them returned to their personal perches, demanding they be fed. 

Yixing and Nakk acquiesced. As they sorted out the birdfeed, Nakk grunted, “How’ve ye been? Haven’t seen ye in a few weeks.”

“Good,” Yixing replied, knowing that Nakk didn’t need much of an answer. “Can I borrow a falcon for another of my letters?”

“‘S long as th’ lord’s fine wit’ it. They need the exercise.” They worked in silence for a few more moments. When Yixing let one of the falcons settle on a wooden rail, Nakk continued in the lowest of voices, “...are the…” 

Yixing paused, turning to look at the falconer. “The?” 

Nakk made the Sign against Evil on his chest before continuing in a louder voice, “Are the wolves gone? Or are they staying with ye?”

Blinking with surprise, Yixing closed the window. “Yes, they are gone. They were simply bringing me an injured animal.” He pursed his lips to tamp down his temper, and then when he could trust his voice to remain neutral, continued, “You know they mean no harm?” 

There was silence for a moment before Nakk also put down the birdfeed, having finished. “The memory is still fresh in this village’s mind. Forgive me for saying so, but the stories of how magicked wolves can outsmart humans remain to discipline Snowsdale children now.”

Yixing took a moment to digest the news. Nakk, of course, was referring to when his mother had gone wild, and had the wolves help carry out her revenge. That memory remained fresh in his mother’s mind too, but in a vastly different way. “I hope you know that, in turn, the stories of how Snowsdale hunted my mother like a rabid dog were _my_ childhood stories.”

He hoped that was a diplomatic enough way to put it, and made to leave. Inside, he was shaking with anger quickly melting into disappointment. The birds could feel his anger, and began to chitter with upset. He sent a silent message of calm, trying to summon it himself. Good thing he’d finished with his duties, so he could go before the disappointment could turn his tongue harsher. As he turned, Nakk called out, “Wait!”

Yixing stopped at the entrance, eyes sad. “Yes?”

Nakk took a deep breath. “I never said it out loud,” he said slowly, “but I meant to apologize for the actions of my father.” Nakk’s father Hakkon had led the hunt for Yixing’s mother, claiming she was dangerous despite Hakkon acting as a pseudo father figure all of Daine’s life. A betrayal that had cut deeply, even to this day. “I am not him, and I am trying to learn.” He met Yixing’s gaze, and in that gaze, Yixing saw sincerity. 

The disappointment and upset melted away, and Yixing nodded. “I accept your apology, and I thank you for trying to learn. I will… see you tomorrow.”

At this, Nakk sagged a little with relief. Yixing felt lighter too. “Good, the falcons like you. Weiryn guide your path.”

“And Goddess bless,” Yixing said, and left. He’s glad they left on a better note, but goodness, human interaction was exhausting. He’d forgotten, after only a few weeks of spending his time solely with Chanyeol.

A smile grew on his face when he remembered that Chanyeol was waiting for him. A light snow had begun to fall, and it only served to brighten Yixing’s spirits. He threw open the door to his cottage when he returned, only to find that Chanyeol was nowhere to be found.


	2. Chapter 2

Chanyeol had seen his breath coming out in wisps, and that the wisps were becoming thicker and cloudier. But he was still surprised when his dog’s body gave out on him. He splooted along the side of the trail, tongue lolling out as he gasped.

 _Gods be damned, but I am an idiot_ , he berated himself. Logically, his mind had been telling him that he needed to wait for another few weeks or so, at least until the human had finished with him. After all, his injuries in his snow leopard form had been so severe they had become almost fatal in his dog form. He’d also not been able to give himself time to get used to being a beagle.

His gut, however, had screamed at him to get out before he got attached. Before he could think it was normal for him to receive care like this without necessary compensation. Chanyeol’s mind flashed to how Inar would make him do all sorts of tasks. At the very least, Inar had left him alone sexually. Other slaves hadn’t been so lucky, but as a pet he had special privileges.

He laughed bitterly. If he didn’t leave, things would not be so different with the human now. _Yixing_. Best case scenario, he would stay a dog forever. Worst case scenario, Yixing would find out who Chanyeol truly was and decide to kill him. Chanyeol certainly would, in his shoes. After all, he had just tried to kill Yixing’s parents. It was so terribly ironic, as if the Hag had rolled her loaded dice.

As if on cue, the Graveyard Hag herself appeared. “Naughty boy, you have no right to be angry at me when you’re the one who thought of me,” she said in her old, scratchy voice. Chanyeol growled at her, and the Hag wagged a finger at him. “Ah-ah, where is your respect for your elders?”

 _It died when I was sold to the Scanrans_ , Chanyeol informed her. 

The Hag shook her head. “There’s nothing I could’ve done about that and you know that. Your parents had made your choices for you.”

Chanyeol closed his eyes and nodded. That much was true. His parents, originally from Tyra, had made the mistake of moving to the Siraj Mountains. They’d known how dangerous that area was, but the opportunities were there. After spending only four years in hardworking but loving bliss with family, they had been caught in an unlucky raid. At five, Chanyeol had ended up in the Carthak slave pens. 

He’d been scared and alone and afraid, the nightmare stories of how both young boys and girls were treated were about to become his reality. The metal slave collar had snapped tight around his neck, awaiting an owner’s sigil. His clothes had been scrapped, leaving him only in a loincloth. The only thing he’d managed to keep was his mother’s bracelet, charmed so that it appeared as a light tattoo on his left wrist.

The slavers had been delighted to find Chanyeol had the Gift, and were able to sell him for a hefty price to one man in particular: Inar Hadensra. Inar was a Scanran shaman-mage, with shaggy blond hair, beard, and a ruby set in his left eye. He had been searching for a magical pet, and Ozorne, former Emperor of Carthak and now Stormwing scheming for world domination, had given the slavers plenty of compensation for Chanyeol, as a goodwill gift. 

Just the sight of the Stormwing was enough to strike fear in the hearts of both the slavers and the slaves. Only Chanyeol could tell it was a projection, that the real Ozorne was somewhere else. But this projection still had very real detail - Ozorne was a giant bird with the head and the chest of a man. Even when he moved Chanyeol could hear the clicking of his steel feathers and claws.

Slowly, he looked over the slave pen with amber eyes. The moment Ozorne’s eyes landed on Chanyeol, cold and calculating, his fate was sealed. A cruel smile had spread on Ozorne’s thin lips as he declared him perfect. “A Tyran, to boot. Just like another mage I would like to enslave for life.”

Chanyeol had to grow up very quickly, his slave collar and tan skin marking him forever as his lower status in Scanra, and the people he had a hand in killing as a magical pet had scarred him in ways he still had yet to understand. He was drained of his Gift more times than he could count, acting as a reservoir for Inar to draw upon. 

Chanyeol didn’t think Kris could ever understand how lucky he was to not be Gifted. Inar hadn’t helped by declaring his son useless, despite Kris’s talent at managing Inar’s lands and assets for him when Inar was too busy dabbling with arcane magics. But Kris had been alright to him, until his father's passing had changed everything.

He’s suddenly pulled into the present with the Hag snapping her fingers in his face. Chanyeol barked at her in surprise but then forced himself to be quiet. He didn’t want Yixing to find him.

“Now why are you trying to undo the nice things I’m doing for you?” the Hag scolded him. 

Chanyeol blinked at her, and then scowled the best he could with a hound’s face. _You mean, you were the reason I was brought here?_

“Perhaps,” she shrugged, and then cackled. “As in, of course! Snowsdale isn’t exactly on the way from Tortall to Scanra, if you hadn’t noticed.” Her face softened, as much as it is possible for a goddess of mischief’s face to do so. “I adopted you as one of my own, after your parents were so nice to me, and then Uusoae just had to go and take you from me.” She sniffed haughtily. “The worst. I went through so much to find you. Be grateful.”

 _Uu-what? For me?_ Chanyeol wondered, but the Hag was already gone. He slumped, sighing. The gods always brought more questions than answers. 

He supposed he should be grateful to his parents that they had been so generous with their offerings to the Graveyard Hag, but to be honest all of those were faint memories. Too much separated him from his parents now. He didn’t even know if they were still alive.

A shiver wracked his body and Chanyeol realized he needed to find shelter, now. He struggled to get on his feet but couldn’t. After a few moments of trying, he gave up and collapsed again. 

His nose filled with a familiar scent, a sweet lavender. Soon after, his ears perked up to hear shouts of “Chanyeol!” 

He let out a sad howl to help Yixing, resigned to the fate to which the Graveyard Hag had delivered him. Might as well see where this was going. Yixing scrambled into view and went to his side. “Oh, no, Chanyeol, you silly pup,” he crooned, voice filled with relief and frustration. 

Chanyeol only whimpered in response, basking in the sudden warmth of Yixing’s arms as he was swept up. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, recognizing the healing sleep once again.

And thus his life was saved a second time.

_____________________

After giving Chanyeol a bath, Yixing also gave him a stern talking-to. Well, as stern as he could be with a puppy squirming away from his drying hands. “Listen, you have to stay with me until the winter is over. We’ll go look for your owner when you’re completely healed.” He swallowed at the idea of having to give up Chanyeol. The metal collar glistened at him, taunting him. It bothered him for some reason, reminding him of something he couldn’t quite remember.

No matter. It meant Chanyeol was not his to keep. But with those injuries, Yixing was not sure he wanted to return Chanyeol. He would cross that bridge when it came to it, he decided as he finished toweling off the puppy.

Chanyeol sneezed and then shook himself, getting a few tiny drops of water on Yixing. Laughing, Yixing ruffled the dog’s fur. “Silly, you’ll get me wet too.” Chanyeol woofed and licked his face after some hesitance. “Gross,” Yixing said with no real heat, “I’d almost say you were picking up bad habits from the wolves.”

At the word wolves, Chanyeol tensed up and began to growl. “Whoa, not you too. They’re good ones, they brought you to me. You should be grateful.” As if he’d understood him, the growl turned into whines. “I guess you wouldn’t really understand, huh,” he murmured apologetically, patting Chanyeol’s head. The dog barked once, gave Yixing a look and then padded back to his bed.

Yixing blinked at Chanyeol’s now curled figure and then shrugged, standing up to stretch. “Alright then.” He yawned, thinking it was about time for him to go to bed too. “Tomorrow, I should check on Kyungsoo, see if he needs anything.” The hedgewitch had a tendency to keep to himself. He only grudgingly accepted Yixing’s help, but Yixing always knew extra magic was appreciated.

Yixing thought about telling Chanyeol again to not run away while he was out, but somehow he had the feeling that Chanyeol had learned his lesson. For now, at least.

_____________________

Later that night, Chanyeol uncurled, shifting to look at where Yixing was sleeping. _Just because you’re nice to me, doesn’t mean I have to be nice to you_ , he wanted to say.

His muscles complained at him when he got up and padded over to Yixing, and he stared for a moment. He didn’t understand why Yixing took care of him when there was nothing Chanyeol could give in return. Yixing did his own hunting, superb with a bow, and he never made Chanyeol do anything. 

Chanyeol couldn’t let his guard down. Maybe when he got better, Yixing would try to make him do things. That would be his cue to escape, next.

He went back to bed, letting the Hag’s grumbling lull him to sleep.

_____________________

A few days later, Yixing awoke to Chanyeol barking his head off. “Whazzit?” he slurred, confused and heart pounding because of the sudden loud noise.

The question was answered soon enough when a person pounded on his door. “Runner for Healer Yixing!” shouted a voice from outside, “Emergency birth at the Byun Stables!”

Instantly awake, Yixing simply pulled on his work robes over his sleeping clothes. “Have you got a horse for me?” he called out as he tied his boots on.

“Yes, Healer Kyungsoo insisted.” Yixing smiled despite the emergency, knowing that when Kyungsoo insisted, Kyungsoo received.

“Okay, I’m ready.” Chanyeol tried to follow him out, but Yixing shook his head. “You collapsed yesterday, you’re not ready to go. Stay, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” However, Chanyeol refused to move out of the doorway, and Yixing sighed exasperatedly.

The courier interrupted, “Sir? There is enough space in the saddle if you would like to bring the hound. We must get going.” 

Yixing glanced at the courier and then at Chanyeol. Was he healed enough to go? He shook his head and made up his mind. “If you want to go, then let’s go. Don’t want to keep you cooped up here forever.” He scooped Chanyeol up, into the pouch attached to his saddle, and swung himself into it. “Let’s go,” he said and they rode.

Within moments, they arrived at the stables. Yixing rushed in, Chanyeol on his heels, to the sight of Kyungsoo running his hands over the mare, a soothing green flowing from his hands. “Good, you’re here,” Kyungsoo nodded at Yixing, who used a bit of his gift to sterilize his hands. “The legs are out but the head is stuck. See what you can do, it’s taking my Gift just to keep her stable.” 

Yixing nodded and then concentrated on the mare. He tapped on the copper fire of his wild magic, and focused on the mare. He could see the foal, head and neck in a too-awkward position. Quietly, Yixing convinced the foal to move into a much better position, and only pulled himself away when he heard the relieved sighs of the hostlers as the foal finally fell out.

Satisfied, Yixing moved away as the hostlers took over. Assessing himself, he was reassured that he wasn’t as tired as he had been with healing Chanyeol - akin to the difference between running and sprinting for an hour. It really must have been something about using the Gift rather than wild magic. Strange.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Kyungsoo moving to the side of the stables, away from the horses and the hostlers. Grabbing a towel, Yixing followed suit as Kyungsoo plopped himself on the floor with a sigh. Reaching over, he used the towel to wipe at the tired-looking man’s sweaty forehead. Kyungsoo batted at him weakly but let him pat down his short black hair. His robes were blue with gold lining. The colors of the Byun household.

Putting aside the towel, Yixing poked at Kyungsoo’s robes. “Got you to wear their colors, huh?” he asked jokingly, sitting next to Kyungsoo. He let the familiar flutterings of his crush on Kyungsoo wash over him, making him warm. The healer knew of Yixing’s feelings towards him, but treated him like everyone else. A good man.

Well, a good man who was glaring at him. “I would’ve refused but then Baekhyun threatened to follow me until I accepted and wore them.” Kyungsoo shuddered, but had a fond smile on his face. “The horror.” Kyungsoo had wanted to stay out of the castle, claiming that he didn’t have enough Gift to qualify as an official mage. 

Yixing suspected it was partly also because of his preference to serve the villagers rather than the noblemen. But he knew for a fact that Kyungsoo had a soft spot for Baekhyun. Chuckling, he agreed, “That Baekhyun can be persistent.” Chanyeol took that moment to walk into the space between Yixing and Kyungsoo and thrust his wet nose in Yixing’s face, causing him to splutter. 

“Who’s this?” Kyungsoo asked softly, reaching out to touch Chanyeol. The hound shrank from his reach, slinking over Yixing’s lap to sit on his other side. Kyungsoo retrieved his hand, looking a little hurt. On the other hand, Yixing battled with feelings of worry and… relief? Worry about Chanyeol and his untrusting nature, and relief that he trusted Yixing at least. It was the first he’d shown it.

“This is Chanyeol. He’s a bit wary of strangers.”

“Ah. I’d heard about the hound brought to you by the wolves.” Yixing tensed at the mention of the wolves, but Kyungsoo continued, “It’s too bad. I would’ve liked to meet them.” 

Looking at Kyungsoo in surprise, Yixing suddenly grinned. Always more reasons to love Kyungsoo. “I’ll introduce you next time,” he promised.

“So you can talk to the wolves?” Kyungsoo frowned. “I thought you couldn’t talk to animals, only heal them.”

“Well, I can talk to animals Ma and my older sister Sarra have spoken with before.” He gestured at Chanyeol, “but I can’t talk to others.” Yixing frowned. “Except, somehow I knew this hound’s name.”

Kyungsoo nodded thoughtfully. “Well, whatever the case, Snowsdale is glad to have you. How are your parents?” 

“They’re good, for the most part. I haven’t heard from them in a while, but I think they’re just busy.” 

“Good.” Kyungsoo stood up with a groan. “I think I’ll get going to my place now.”

Stifling a yawn, Yixing said, “Me too. I’ll come by later, if you need me to?” 

Kyungsoo waved a hand. “No need,” he replied, “I have a feeling today will be an easy day after this. Come tomorrow.” He paused. “You know, this is the longest I’ve talked with you, in the whole year you’ve been here.”

Yixing, patting dust off of his robes from the stables, looked up at Kyungsoo with wide eyes. “Really?” he asked.

Kyungsoo offered him a small smile. “Really. We should do it more often, you’re one of the few people living here that I _don’t_ want to strangle.”

Laughing, Yixing said, “Glad to hear it. See you tomorrow then.”

“See you.” Now that the emergency had passed, Yixing took Chanyeol on a walk back to his cottage. He liked seeing Chanyeol eye everything curiously, sniffing here and there before quickly trotting to Yixing's side. They had to take breaks here and there, to accommodate for Chanyeol’s still healing body.

Surprisingly, more of the villagers came up and approached Yixing, asking him about the dog. Some, like the butcher, had treats ready that Chanyeol warily sniffed before devouring. In awe, Yixing sat down next to Chanyeol and said, “I’ve never seen the villagers so friendly. Thankful, sure, for when I do a healing service, but… they’ve always kept their distance from me.”

Chanyeol woofed at him. Yixing sighed. “But what am I saying. You wouldn’t understand. Still, I’m glad to have you.”

_____________________

He didn’t trust that someone with Yixing’s background was really so nice. After all, Yixing’s parents had brought ruin to Chanyeol’s old master and Carthak, Chanyeol’s old home. Their son was probably more of the same.

 _Yet he really isn’t_ , Chanyeol thought bemusedly as he watched Yixing interact with the local village kids. He listened to their talk earnestly, as if their gibberish made any sense to him. The kids presented their latest findings in the field - a stray piece of grass, a small bit of fence. Yixing cupped each of these and wrote a small blessing on them. Chanyeol could tell the little wisps of his Gift on each.

But why? They wouldn’t do anything for him, and he didn’t have to.

Chanyeol found himself asking this a lot. It was strange and new to him how Yixing helped literally everyone. 

But the most endearing yet annoying part of these weeks were Yixing’s incessant dog training tactics. It really was unnecessary.

He lost count of the times he’d turn around to find Yixing on his knees, gently offering his palm for Chanyeol to sniff. Chanyeol could recognize the disappointment in Yixing’s eyes when he turned his muzzle away. Couldn’t let Yixing get too close.

But this continued for weeks, Yixing waiting patiently for something that might never happen. Eventually Chanyeol took pity on Yixing, walking closer to Yixing to be petted. Might as well, since he’d be here until he was fully healed. He’d leave when it was necessary.

_____________________

One morning, the realization jolted through his system as he stretched. He could shapeshift into his human body; he was whole again. Chanyeol got up and shook himself thoroughly, feeling the energy thrum through his body. _I can leave!_

Then he glanced at Yixing, still slumbering peacefully. _But go where?_ Chanyeol realized. The only fate that awaited him in Scanra was death. Young master Kris had been very clear about that. 

Touching a paw to his metal collar, he could again feel the lack of Gift in it. He was free to do as he wished. Maybe he’d wait out here a bit more, see where he should disappear to.

The day went as usual, visiting Kyungsoo at his newly setup quarters in the castle. Chanyeol thought it funny how Kyungsoo scowled at the finery, but secretly seemed pleased. Even Yixing picked up on it, teasing Kyungsoo mercilessly. They were finally thrown out at dusk, Kyungsoo shooing Yixing away.

Halfway back, Chanyeol felt the ends of his fur stand up. He began to growl. Beside him, Yixing tensed as well. “Something’s terribly wrong,” Yixing murmured under his breath.

Suddenly turning, Chanyeol pushed Yixing out of the way in time as a sickly yellow green rope dropped where he’d been standing. A woman’s voice screeched, coming from the monstrous spider lunging at them from above. Cursing, Yixing rolled out of the way again. “Spidren!” he spat, crouching into a martial arts stance. “Chanyeol, out of the way!”

 _Like hell_. Yixing would stand no chance without a weapon. Chanyeol sprang as the spidren lunged, woman’s head screaming again. He aimed for the human throat and ripped it out, barely avoiding her spider legs. 

Or so he thought, as a fire ripped through his side. Whimpering, Chanyeol let go of his jaws as the spidren stopped struggling, and fell backwards into oblivion.

_____________________

Yixing’s heart was in his throat, feeling like he couldn’t heal Chanyeol quickly enough. His amber Gift streamed as fast as it could, from his hands to burn the infection from Chanyeol’s wound. Why had there been a spidren here, of all places? They preferred generally warmer places, it was odd for this one to be so far north. And with so little chance of getting prey….

Yixing shook his head, realizing he was crying too. “I didn’t save you just so you could die on me,” he told the unconscious dog. Luckily, now all that was left was stitching muscle and skin together. Finishing up, he wiped the sweat from his brow and gathered the dog into his arms. Yixing ignored the screaming in his muscles, telling him he’d pushed his body too hard.

Somehow they made it to the tent - Yixing thanked the Goddess Chanyeol was a light dog - and he gingerly set Chanyeol down on his bed. He pulled the dried rabbit from his stores and set a pot to boil. As the water began to boil, he heard rustling behind him. “Don’t move, we’ve been through this already.” The rustling stopped immediately. 

After cutting the rabbit in small chunks, he noticed Chanyeol watching him with ears perked, licking his chops. Managing a small smile, Yixing walked over and began to feed Chanyeol. “Thank you, Chanyeol,” he told the dog, whose tail was now thumping the wall. “I really could have fought it off, you know. But thank you.” 

He watched Chanyeol wolf down the food, smiling fondly. Petting him, he cooed, “You’re such a good boy.” He patted him on the side and got up. Stretching, he grumbled, “I really need to carry my bow from now on.” 

Meanwhile, Chanyeol let out a whine at the loss of contact. “You’re too cute. I’ll be right back.” True to his word, Yixing returned with a bowl of the soup and some bread. After some begging, Chanyeol got to eat some of the bread too. “I’m spoiling you,” Yixing sighed before finally deciding to get ready for sleep, donning his nightshirt and dipping a towel in the reserve water to wash his face. He felt ready to collapse. _Not again, I wanted to be done with this…._

In the corner of his eye, he got distracted by Chanyeol wagging his tail. Yixing blinked through the water, heart swelling, and went to scratch his ears. Chanyeol closed his eyes, tail thumping energetically against the ground. “You’re being nice to me tonight,” Yixing murmured, but feeling better nonetheless. When he straightened, Chanyeol whined and tried to follow him. Instead, he tripped over his bed. Yixing was by his side in an instant.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You need rest, don’t move too much.” He tried to let Chanyeol go but Chanyeol scrabbled for purchase in his arms until he tightened his hold again. “What’s up?” he asked, wishing for the umpteenth time that he could speak with Chanyeol. Instead, he experimented by lowering Chanyeol in different places. 

Chanyeol stopped whining when Yixing stopped at his bed. “You want to join me in my bed?” Yixing asked, surprised. Chanyeol’s ears went back and he gave Yixing a soulful look. He’d known various animals liked to cuddle with his mother, much to his father’s dismay at times, and they’d done the same with his sister. Yixing, however, had usually slept alone, with the sole exception of Junmyeon’s pack. 

“…I suppose you can join me.” It would be a nice change of pace. Chanyeol woofed once as Yixing put him down on his bed. As soon as Yixing laid down, the hound burrowed his way into Yixing’s arms. Chuckling, Yixing ran soothing hands up and down the dog’s body. “Good night, Chanyeol.”

Soon, Yixing completely passed out, the stress of the day and subsequent draining of both of his magics pulling him under.

_____________________

Chanyeol woke in the middle of the night, feeling warm. He groaned and stretched, feeling the ache of healing in his body, and then froze. Those were human arms and legs that he was stretching, not dog legs. His heart thudded in fear as he turned to look at the sleeping figure beside him. It would be just his luck to accidentally shapeshift for the first time in weeks, right when he’d decided to get in bed with Yixing.

Luckily, he found Yixing sleeping soundly. He let out his breath, carefully relaxing back into the bed. If he stretched out his whole body, his feet would dangle over the edge of the bed. Why did Yixing have to be so short? Chanyeol would chuckle, but his mind was instead captured by how beautiful Yixing looked while asleep. 

Then again, Yixing had always looked beautiful. The difference now, Chanyeol realized, was that he trusted Yixing. He’d never felt like this about anyone since he’d become a slave, not even the people who had befriended him despite his status. Of all the people in his life, kindness came the most naturally to Yixing, as naturally as cruelty had come to many in Chanyeol’s life.

“I don’t understand you,” Chanyeol whispered before he hugged Yixing, “but I would like to stay with you.” He couldn’t help himself, curling around Yixing. He reveled in the way Yixing sighed and unconsciously snuggled into Chanyeol’s embrace. Yixing had saved his life three times.

In that moment, he realized what his new calling should be. Chanyeol could stay a dog forever, and guard Yixing. Yixing was kind but he was perhaps too kind. He had no one to protect him, especially if spidrens and, Chanyeol shuddered at the thought, anything worse were encroaching on Snowsdale.

Maybe that’s why the Hag had brought him here. To give him new purpose, a person he would help rather than serve, and out of his own choice. After all, if he was no longer a slave… Chanyeol nodded to himself. _This is it_. He would repay Yixing this way, and never return to his previous life.

And really, what did he have to return to, anyway? There really wasn’t anything in Scanra any more. The twist of sigils on his collar had long faded, with no one the wiser as only he and his Master had originally been able to see them.

Eventually, he might have to tell Yixing. Tell him that he was a shapeshifter. But it was best that Yixing and the world never knew that he had been commanded to kill Yixing’s parents. Sighing, Chanyeol used the red of his Gift to shift into hound form.

 _You happy now?_ Chanyeol thought at the skies as he buried his face in Yixing’s chest to find sleep again. The Hag’s mischievous chuckle rang in his ears, and he rolled his eyes.

_____________________

One thing Yixing never told anyone was the recurring dream he’d had since reaching adolescence. The dream of a man holding him. The contents of the dream were always simple, of warmth, of holding, and being held. The physical features of the man, however, changed from time to time.

At first, it had been his closest schoolmate at the City of the Gods. His face had burned when he’d seen Han the next day, realizing they would never see eye to eye on preferences. 

His father had warned him, when Yixing had told him. “Be careful, plenty of boys will turn nasty when they think another boy may be interested in them physically,” Numair had warned before hugging him. “I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me, but my heart aches for you. It will not be easy.”

Yixing had smiled into his father’s chest, tears in his eyes with relief. “I know it will not be easy, but I cannot help what I am.”

“If it makes you feel better, one of my greatest teachers was married to a man. I do not and will not ever love you less for this. Have you told your mother and sister?”

He’d shaken his head. “Not yet. I will.”

“Good.”

He’d never told Han but that was just as well. Recently, the face had been that of Kyungsoo’s. The prickly hedgewitch was just too cute and his subconscious couldn’t help it. 

These past few nights though, he couldn’t see a face but he’s sure it’s no longer Kyungsoo. The body embracing him in his dream was much taller, shoulders broader. He had hugged Kyungsoo once or twice before, much to the dismay of the hedgewitch, so he knew.

He couldn’t pinpoint when exactly it had started, but it was definitely after Chanyeol’s arrival. Yawning, Yixing shifted slightly towards the warmth in his arms. _Oh, Chanyeol_. The pup always curled up in the most perfectly comfortable spot and almost disappeared into it. At first, Chanyeol had simply gone to sleep right away. Now he sometimes gave Yixing cute little kisses before spooning into Yixing’s arms.

Smiling, Yixing pressed a kiss into Chanyeol’s fur. In the past, he’d wake up feeling slightly bereft from the cuddling dream, melancholy that it wasn’t reality. But now with Chanyeol cuddling him, it didn’t seem quite as pressing that he find the man of his dreams.

Now, he simply shrugged and drifted back into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Slowly, Yixing’s days fell into a different pattern. Now he was accompanied by Chanyeol on his daily travels - on his morning walk to the Byun Castle, afternoon visits to Kyungsoo’s medicinal hut. The hound grew healthier and stronger, and could go more places. 

It was obvious to Yixing that something had changed in Chanyeol. The hound, who had once been untrusting of even the person who had healed him, began to warm up to others.

First it was Kyungsoo, right at their second encounter. Kyungsoo would complain about Chanyeol’s enthusiastic attention, but Yixing didn’t believe a word of it. After all, Kyungsoo always had a treat for Chanyeol and fed him when he thought no one was looking. Chanyeol took a bit longer to warm up to everyone else. For example, when Chanyeol first met Baekhyun, he peed on Baekhyun’s shoes—much to everyone’s dismay except Baekhyun’s, who simply laughed.

And like their first walk, Chanyeol continued to drag Yixing to new pit stops, begging from pets and treats from random Snowsdale inhabitants. The baker, the carpenter, the Byun Castle’s staff - somehow, all of them had a relative, good friend, or animal companion that Yixing had treated. He accepted their thanks with bemusement, because they remembered whether or not he’d helped last week or last year.

He even talked to the farmers who were his neighbors all along, and the hunters who had always roamed the forests near his cottage. Both groups thanked him for all his help with their animals, and he began to receive free meals as well, much to his surprise. Yixing had just been doing what he was good at, but one of the hunters had confided in him that they’d never been sure if Yixing would accept their thanks.

Yixing was also having the dreams consistently, and the features became more distinct each time. Something about this man seemed so familiar, but Yixing was sure he'd never seen him before. Taller than Yixing, unruly silver hair, large ears. 

Shaking his head, Yixing put it out of his mind. He’d figure it out sooner or later. This afternoon, Chanyeol stiffened at the door of the inn and pointedly walked past the building. “What’s wrong, Chanyeol?” Yixing called out. The hound usually loved to visit the innkeeper, as the man always had a plate of meat set aside for him. 

Chanyeol turned around to bark, as if telling Yixing to hurry up and join him. At that moment, the door opened and Han stepped out.

The two stared at each other in surprise before shouting, “Rikash!” and “Han!” and embracing each other. Han clapped Yixing on the back before pulling away, eyes glittering with tears but grinning hard. Yixing knew he wore a similar expression.

Han had been Yixing’s oldest friend from the City of the Gods, his classmate, and former crush all rolled into one. It had been two years since Yixing had seen him last, since Han had begun his apprenticeship with a traveling ward mage. It suited his Gifted abilities of barrier creation and the Sight, a form of the Gift that allowed the Gifted to See through magic, detect poison, and sharpen their vision.

“It’s been too long. What was your new mage name, again?” Yixing asked. It had been during Han’s apprenticeship that he had decided on that, or so Yixing had remembered from their letters. 

“Lu Han,” his friend replied, still grinning. Yixing marveled at how Lu Han looked exactly the same as he had two years ago - honey blonde hair, doe eyes, and exactly the same height as Yixing. “I decided to keep it simple and switch up the order of my name. Yours was…” he frowned, scrunching up his face.

“Yixing,” Yixing replied. “It’s pretty different from Rikash, I know.” It had been so long since he had last been called Rikash in person. Probably since Beltane, when he had been with family. His father occasionally slipped up, despite having changed his name too and behaving dramatically whenever he was called by his original name. 

“I like it. It has a nice ring to it.” Lu Han suddenly frowned and stepped closer. “Have you heard?” 

“Heard what?” Yixing’s voice softened to match Lu Han’s tone.

Lu Han looked at him appraisingly before seeming to decide something. “Your mother... was attacked at Fort Drell. It’s been almost three months now.”

“Fort Drell?” Yixing frowned to match Lu Han’s expression. Fort Drell was the fort on the border of Tusaine and Tortall, south of Galla. “But why? Tusaine has no quarrel with Tortall at the moment.”

Shaking his head, Lu Han replied, “It didn’t look like the Tusaines, more like a rogue group of warriors. I know we’re quite far but I would be careful.”

“Ma gets attacked all the time,” Yixing replied, tone weary. “It comes with making enemies, her and Da both.” He smiled wanly. “She didn’t even mention it in her last letter, probably not too much to worry about.” He put an arm around Lu Han’s shoulders, bringing him closer. “But enough about that. Thank you for the news. I’ll ask about it in my next letter to her.”

“Of course.” Lu Han not-so-subtly glanced around the town, at the Snowsdale villagers pretending to not listen in on their conversation. “How’re you liking it here?”

“I honestly love it,” Yixing said. “It’s what I’d always wanted.”

Lu Han shook his head ruefully. “A unique wild magic and Gift combination like yours and you hole yourself up here. At least you look happy.”

“I am, partly thanks to… I’m not sure where he ran off to,” Yixing realized, looking around and seeing Chanyeol was nowhere to be found. “Chanyeol!” he called out.

“Chanyeol?” Lu Han’s voice was strange, so Yixing turned to look at him. He might have been imagining it, however, since all that’s on Lu Han’s face is a look of curiosity.

“Yeah, I found him a few months ago,” Yixing explained. “Or actually, he was brought to me by the local animals.” He left out the wolves, not needing yet another person to overreact about that.

“Huh. Is that him over there?” Yixing followed the path of Lu Han’s finger and noticed a tail sticking out upright from a long row of pots by the edge of the market.

“Must be,” Yixing said, too relieved to wonder how Lu Han recognized a dog he’d never seen before. “I see you, Chanyeol!” The tail drooped and then the dog came out, walking over. He walked around Lu Han to Yixing. “What’d I say about running off?”

Chanyeol’s tail drooped even farther and he pulled out the puppy eyes. Yixing’s hands remained on his hips for another moment before he relented and stooped to pet Chanyeol. “Damn it, I can’t resist your puppy eyes.”

“How long did you say you had him?” Lu Han asked, and Yixing looked up. 

“Two… and a half months?” Yixing said, trying to remember the time. “It feels like forever though, I needed to take a while healing him.” He scooped Chanyeol up and made him face Lu Han. “This is Lu Han, Lu Han, this is Chanyeol. Not sure why he’s being so hesitant today, but I guess he still takes a bit of time to warm up to strangers.”

“Nice to meet you, Chanyeol,” Lu Han said before turning briefly to Yixing. “Anyway, I have to be on my way to the Byun Castle. Could I… come over for dinner?”

Yixing smiled warmly at him. “Of course. Baek—the young lord can direct you towards my house.”

“How are the nobles here?” Lu Han asked in a hushed whisper. “I’m here to do the usual - cleansing, touching up some listening spells, and warding the village from disease. Plus an extra task of Immortal warding.”

Thinking of Baekhyun, and his stern but fair parents, Yixing replied, “They’re good for nobles. I’d know.”

“You would, with all your noble godsiblings,” Lu Han agreed, and sighed. “That’ll be a nice change. You meet all kinds when you work contract to contract.” He grinned, wiggling his fingers. “I’m in high demand, but still waiting for the right one to take me in as their pet sorcerer.”

Yixing grinned in response, knowing that Lu Han was half-serious behind the joking. It did happen, contracted mages sometimes caught the right eye and became personal sorcerers to a noble family without magic. Lu Han in particular had good chances, what with his warding abilities. In theory. However, Lu Han tended to be… unique. People wouldn’t dislike him per se, but unpredictability was not want most people wanted in a sorcerer.

“Unfortunately for you, you’d make a terrible pet,” Yixing sighed at Lu Han, who batted at him. At his side, Chanyeol made a strange sort of whuffing noise, but Yixing looked down and Chanyeol’s eyes were innocent. Then he licked Yixing and Yixing grimaced at him.

“Whatever, ye of little faith. I’ll be by later, gods go with you!” 

Lu Han’s farewell shook him out of his distraction. Yixing waved as he shouted, “Goddess bless!” He watched Lu Han rush off, making sure he was going the right direction, until Chanyeol grew restless in his arms, wiggling to get out. “Okay, okay. Just don’t run off like that again, okay?” Chanyeol woofed and led the way to the marketplace. Yixing let out a quiet chuckle and trotted to keep pace.

_____________________

Chanyeol knew his luck would run out eventually. The market had been a close call, but he knew he couldn’t avoid Lu Han forever.

He smelled the approaching people at the same time Yixing’s wards pinged him, and began to bark. Yixing quieted him, rubbing soothing circles down Chanyeol’s back until he reluctantly calmed. There was nothing he could really do without giving himself away. He glanced at Yixing, and saw how Yixing’s eyes were soft. 

Then he looked away. It scared him sometimes, how much he’d grown to trust this man. He felt Yixing straighten to answer the door. Chanyeol looked up in time to see Baekhyun flinging himself at Yixing. He felt his hackles rise, a low growl coming out before he could control himself. _Stop being silly_ , he told himself.

“Ah, Baek, what—oh, hi Lu Han.” 

The handsome mage had carefully stepped in after Baekhyun, glancing at their embrace with furrowed brows before turning to take in the rest of the cottage. He was wearing an extremely long thick fur coat, and immediately took it off, holding it in the crook of his elbow. The strangely miffed look was replaced with curiosity. “Hello, Yixing,” he nodded, as Baekhyun finally detangled himself from Yixing and beamed at him. 

“Lu Han here said that he was visiting, so I decided to come along!” Baekhyun said, and walked over to Chanyeol. “No need to get territorial, Chanyeol, I know he’s your favoritest master,” Baekhyun cooed at him, reaching down to rub his head. Chanyeol acted cold but melted, wagging his tail and pushing his head into Baekhyun’s hand. He really did like Baekhyun, he just felt… he didn’t know what he felt about Baekhyun and Yixing.

Lu Han, meanwhile, had started to ask Yixing about the provincial life. Baekhyun, while petting Chanyeol, added some commentary on the pros and cons, startling Lu Han again. “What?” Baekhyun asked defensively.

Shaking himself, Lu Han replied, “Apologies, my lord, I just hadn’t thought you’d… have much experience.” 

Baekhyun pouted at Lu Han, whose cheeks went slightly pink. “How many times do I have to tell you, call me Baekhyun. Maybe not in front of my father, but otherwise you’re fine.” Lu Han opened his mouth to protest and Baekhyun continued, cutting him off, “Plus, on the experience side you’ll find I have plenty,” and giving Lu Han a flirtatious wink.

Lu Han shot Yixing a pleading glance to save him, and Yixing obliged with a knowing smirk, “What Baek means to say is that he’s never missed a single fair in Cría. Instead of flirting with the ladies and getting a bride with a heavy dowry, he speaks to a different merchant every day to understand their trade.” It’s spoken with a hint of pride, and even Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun with a different light. 

“I misjudged you, my… Baekhyun,” Lu Han said, clearly still thrown. Then he glanced at Chanyeol and seemed to remember why exactly he was there. “Anyway, I do want to catch up with you but… can I ask a boon of you, Yixing?” He clasped Yixing on the shoulder, and Chanyeol watched warily.

“Anything,” Yixing replied.

“I so terribly miss my hound at home. Can I take yours on a walk?” Chanyeol stiffened and glared at Lu Han. This was not going to happen.

Yixing looked at Chanyeol with uncertainty. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he hedged, “Chanyeol’s not like other dogs.”

“Oh really,” Lu Han said and walked over to Chanyeol, who began to growl at him. Bravely crouching in front of him, he whispered so only Chanyeol could hear, “Come with me or I’ll tell them the truth.”

Chanyeol glared at him, but Lu Han’s expression revealed only a mulish stubbornness that Chanyeol was familiar with. He gave up growling and walked to the door, wagging his tail in a pretend show of doglike hopefulness. Yixing went quiet in the way Chanyeol knew meant he was confused again by Chanyeol, but in the end said, “Okaay, you can take him. Come back safely, and don’t stray too far.”

“Okay!” Lu Han said, and opened the door for Chanyeol. “See you in a bit.” He pursed his lips at finding Baekhyun already engaging Yixing on a different topic of conversation and sighed, turning and closing the door behind him.

They walked, until they reached a clearing far enough away where Baekhyun and Yixing wouldn’t quickly stumble upon them. Lu Han crossed his arms and dropped the fur coat. “That’s for you,” he said expectantly. “You can’t fool me, I’ve got the Sight.” 

Grumbling, Chanyeol grabbed the coat with his mouth and turned around to shapeshift. The coat barely fitted him, being made more for Lu Han’s smaller stature, but it worked. He shivered and said, “Before you get to interrogating me, let’s ward this place.” His voice was rough from disuse, and the syllables felt weird in his mouth. It had been months since he’d last had to speak with someone.

Lu Han simply nodded, and they set to working together. They fell into an easy pattern, and it reminded Chanyeol of just exactly how they knew each other. Especially when Lu Han automatically padded his wards for warmth, a must-have in Scanra.

One of them a slave, the other a starving commonborn. Lu Han had been lucky enough to be apprenticed to a kind master, who dealt with Chanyeol’s master only because Inar had the money. Then, his name had been Han. Han would convince Chanyeol to sneak into the tunnels, always handing him something new from his travels. Eventually, Han was of age to be sent to proper mage school, and Chanyeol thought they would never see each other. 

Until now.

“I see that you’ve gotten a lot better with shapeshifting,” Lu Han casually said when they finished the protective circle. Chanyeol’s no longer shivering from the cold, coat snug around his shoulders. “I recognized you right away, you know. Usually I only See a blurry form with shapeshifting, but it takes a powerful Gift.” He shook his head, sighing. “I’d hoped I was wrong.”

“Yeah.” It’s been so long, Chanyeol wasn’t sure what to say. But Lu Han had always been able to see through Chanyeol, drat him.

“Remember that time you tried snake form?” Lu Han chuckled, and Chanyeol grimaced.

“We promised not to ever speak of that,” he pouted at Lu Han, and the tension between them dissolved. Time may have passed, but Chanyeol had always been able to trust Lu Han. The silliness which surrounded their small adventures had been accompanied by the utmost caution on Lu Han’s part, out of consideration for Chanyeol. “Anyway, what are the odds?”

“What are the odds indeed. How did you end up here, of all places?” Lu Han asked quietly. Then his eyes widened. “Are you here to kill Yixing?”

“No!” Chanyeol replied with an intensity that shocked even him. “I mean… I’ve put that behind me.”

Lu Han looked relieved for a moment before turning his attention on Chanyeol’s collar. Hesitating for a moment, he reached a hand towards it. “Can I…?” 

Chanyeol nodded, and watched as the deep blue of Lu Han’s Gift flowed around his collar, giving it a ghostly aura. Soon it stopped, and Lu Han sighed, stepping back and stretching. “Did you find what you were looking for?” Chanyeol asked.

“Well, in a way.” Lu Han cracked his neck and continued, “It really is just a collar. I can’t find any traces of anyone’s Gift besides yours. Why do you keep it on you?”

He absentmindedly fingered the collar. “To remind myself of my station. Of what I am.” 

Lu Han’s eyes were soft. “You mean, what you were. You’re free now.”

“I can never be free from my own actions, Lu Han,” Chanyeol said in a sad voice. “I may not be here to kill Yixing, but I did try to kill his parents.”

“Ah,” Lu Han replied, recognition flooding his voice. “So you were behind the attack on Fort Drell.”

Chanyeol grimaced at the foggy memories that surfaced - those poor souls who had been sent to accompany him on what had essentially been a suicide mission. None of them, even as a team, had stood a chance against Daine Salmalín. “I was ordered to,” Chanyeol tried as a reply, but it was weak. Both he and Lu Han knew that he didn’t have to, that it was Chanyeol’s fear of the Scanran household he served that had driven him.

Anything had been better than continuing on in Scanra. Chanyeol had thought the Immortals War was a rough time, but when Kris Inarsra had inherited everything from his dead father, Chanyeol’s former master, he turned his resentment on Chanyeol.

“Things can be different now, Chanyeol,” Lu Han’s reply was soft, almost forgiving. “You can become a different person.”

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol said softly. “I’d like to. I’ve…” he hesitated, but shook his head, making up his mind. “I’ve decided to stay here and be with Yixing.” He avoided Lu Han’s gaze, not sure what he’d find there.

“Really?” Lu Han’s voice was surprised, yet strangely not surprised. “Yixing really can tame the wildest of beasts.” His tone turned teasing. “Do you love him?”

Sharply, Chanyeol said, “No. That’s not allowed for me.” When Lu Han blinked at him, he sighed. “But perhaps it’s the closest I can get to it. Dedication, I’d call it.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t fall in love with a master, I can’t even talk to him.”

“Hmm.”

Chanyeol disliked the contemplative tone of Lu Han’s voice. It was the same tone Lu Han’s voice had taken on before he dragged Chanyeol on yet another adventure that could mean his life if they were found out. Not much had really changed. “Please don’t, Lu Han.”

“Don’t what?” Lu Han asked innocently. “We must be getting back now, really, Chanyeol, don’t you trust me?”

Shooting him a flat look, Chanyeol then rolled his eyes but gave Lu Han a hug. “It was really nice to see you.”

“You too. I hope this works out for you.”

“You and me both.”

_____________________

Yixing looked at the door anxiously, wondering if he should go and check for Lu Han and Chanyeol. They had been a while, and though Baekhyun’s company was enjoyable, Yixing’s patience was beginning to wear thin. The ale had long ago been finished, and dusk was beginning to settle in.

“I am sorry, Baekhyun, but can we continue this later?” Yixing asked, getting up and pushing the chair from the table, interrupting Baekhyun mid-sentence. Baekhyun’s smile faltered, but he nodded. Yixing felt bad, but he knew Baekhyun understood, or at least tried to. 

“Yeah, for sure.” Baekhyun pondered a moment before asking, “Do you think Lu Han stole your dog?”

“He wouldn’t…” Yixing said, but his voice trailed off. “He might to mess with me. He used to do that all the time in school.”

“Did you guys know each other long?” Baekhyun’s voice was curious and strangely wistful. 

Yixing smiled at him, moving towards the door as he did. “We did.” A thought occurred to him, and his smile turned into a smirk. “Why, you interested?”

Baekhyun’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “N-no, I already have someone I like.” 

“Ah, so you like him,” Yixing teased, but the rest of the sentence was cut off when he opened the door and Chanyeol woofed up at him. “Hi boy, I missed you!” he cooed, falling to his knees and hugging Chanyeol.

“I brought him back in one piece!” Lu Han declared, patting Yixing on the shoulder. He stepped around and held out a hand to Baekhyun. “And now I have to bring you back in one piece before your family smites me where I stand.”

Yixing turned to look at them, still hugging Chanyeol. He liked this development, maybe he’d have another friend here in Snowsdale with him. His life here was coming together after all, with Baekhyun by his side and Lu Han here for however long. “It really was nice having you two,” Yixing said sincerely, and gave them both a hug. Together, he and Chanyeol waved them off. 

Sighing, Yixing looked at his dog. “Do you like Lu Han more than you like me now?” he teased him too. Chanyeol barked loudly, then went on his hind legs to lick Yixing’s face. Laughing, he said, “All right, all right, I got it. I love you the best too.”

Yixing went to wash, not noticing the humanly contemplative expression on Chanyeol’s face.

_____________________

It was all Lu Han’s fault that Chanyeol was having these thoughts - that maybe he could reveal his true form to Yixing. Lu Han had annoyingly persisted in laying out his reasoning to Chanyeol. Of course, Lu Han had also agreed it probably was a good idea to keep his failed assassination attempt secret from Yixing. But other than that….

It was tempting. The more time passed, the more he felt like a human. Even more human than he had felt as an actual human, because even then he had been a pet. Now he could be a real person, through cuddling Yixing at night and through talking with Lu Han during the day. 

Lu Han could only spend so much time with Chanyeol without drawing Yixing’s (and other people’s) suspicions, but it was good to have a friend again. Plus, Lu Han’s work strengthening wards kept him busy, particularly the ones against immortals. Since Yixing’s report about his spidren attack, the Byuns wanted to take extra precautions. He was even tasked with creating a large chalk circle of immortal-warning wards.

Chanyeol’s regular meetings with Lu Han were made easier by the fact that Lu Han and Yixing had been school friends. They met regularly for meditation sessions, and Chanyeol wistfully watched them. It would be strange for a dog to join them, wouldn’t it? So instead he patiently laid at their feet and rested.

The last week, a thread of magic fell on him, feeling like it burnt him. Chanyeol yelped, jumping up and barking in surprise more than pain. Beside him, Yixing gasped and fell out of his meditation, making eye contact with Chanyeol.

And then Chanyeol heard, _Can you hear me?_ Yixing crawled closer, insistent. Cupping Chanyeol’s dog face, he asked again. Hello?

He couldn’t look at Lu Han, but he _knew_ it was that bastard’s doing. Chanyeol swallowed at Yixing’s sudden proximity, staring dumbly into Yixing’s earnest blue-gray eyes. What should be the first thing he said to him? He finally decided on, _Master?_

Yixing all but shrieked with joy, hugging Chanyeol and then turning around to tackle Lu Han. “You absolute genius, you!” 

Chanyeol saw Lu Han smirk up at Yixing, but he knew it was also directed towards him. He bared his teeth in a silent snarl at Lu Han’s meddling. This made everything so much more complicated. “I know I am,” Lu Han said, stretching.

“But really! I should have thought of it myself.” 

Lu Han pushed at Yixing. “Get off, you’re crushing me with your love.” Yixing stuck his tongue out at him but complied. “It made sense to at least try combining your Gift and wild magic. You complain all the time about how they’re contrary magics, but I told you all you needed was some focus.”

Sighing, Yixing slumped down to the ground. “That was exhausting though. I don’t think I’ll try it again any time soon.” He looked at Chanyeol, who felt conflicted and warm. _It’s worth it for you though._

Chanyeol didn’t answer. He didn’t know how. Instead, he walked over to Yixing and snuggled into his lap. He’d have to think about what this meant, later. And maybe strangle Lu Han.

“You’re so sweet,” Yixing cooed at him, and Chanyeol felt his tension wash away under Yixing’s petting. He opened an eye to glare at Lu Han, who still had a knowing smirk on his face, but decided it was too much work to strangle Lu Han. Plus, Yixing was just so happy.

That night, Yixing mumbled to Chanyeol about his day, Chanyeol trying to be as dog-like in his responses as he could. He could only breathe a sigh of relief when Yixing fell asleep.

Many deep breaths passed until Chanyeol felt comfortable enough to shift into his human form. He cradled Yixing in his arms, trying to battle the feeling his ruse would be up soon. _Not if I can help it_ , he thought grimly and fell asleep, nose buried in Yixing’s hair.

_____________________

As he anticipated, being able to talk with Yixing was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because Chanyeol could finally reply to Yixing after months of Yixing having long monologues. A curse, because he had to pretend even harder to be a dog.

One of their first conversations, of course, was about his former “owner.” Technically not a lie, in a sad way. Chanyeol reluctantly discussed how Inar used him for hunting and didn’t care for him much outside of his usefulness. It was easier to talk about Kris, because he didn’t have to avoid using his name. Yixing wouldn’t know who Kris was, though he would probably know who Inar was.

 _I wish Kris didn’t hate me so much_ , Chanyeol confessed to Yixing, watching him from his dog bed. He pawed at the stick Yixing had given him to play it. _I’m becoming more doglike by the day, never mind what I said about feeling more human_ … he thought to himself.

 _Who’s Kris?_ Yixing asked as he mended gloves and hoods for the falcons. His brow furrowed as he frowned in concentration. 

_My former owner’s son. At times he was nice to me, but my owner liked me more than he liked him. Called him useless._ Chanyeol grabbed the stick in his jaw, and brought it over to Yixing, wagging his tail. Yixing had done enough mending for today. _Play?_

 _In a bit. That’s quite mean of him_ , Yixing said before finishing the last hood.

 _Yeah, so I guess he resented me for that. But enough about them, I have you now! Play?_ Chanyeol persisted, butting his head against Yixing’s knee.

Yixing laughed at him and rubbed his head fondly. _You do have me. Let’s go play._

_____________________

In a rush, Yixing woke up feeling bleary and thinking there was someone in bed with him. Groaning, he stretched and realized it was probably just his imagination. It was only Chanyeol next to him, wagging his tail and tongue lolling. _Food?_ Chanyeol asked him and Yixing groaned again.

In a second, he thought, and yawned. _You know something weird?_ His dream was still on his mind, though fading fast.

 _What? Weird about food?_ Chanyeol’s tail thumped the sheets.

 _No, not food. I’ve been dreaming about a person_ , he told Chanyeol.

The pup cocked its head in confusion and his tail stopped wagging. _Who?_

 _I don’t know_ , Yixing said, frustrated. _Maybe I should stay up all night and figure out why._

Chanyeol woofed in laughter. _That doesn’t sound like it would work, you’d just be even grumpier. Anyway, food?_

 _You’re probably right_ , Yixing smiled. It really was probably nothing, just his dreams getting more and more intense.

Later though, he let it slip in conversation with Lu Han. Lu Han’s eyebrows shot up. “Dreams about a man?” Lu Han asked, and then caught himself. “Not that, you know, I’m worried about you and men it’s just—”

Yixing waved him off. “Shh, it’s okay, I trust you. That is, I hope you’re not worried about it,” Yixing said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Not at all. Continue, what does this man look like?”

“Well,” Yixing said, and paused. “I don’t know. I just know he’s taller than me.” He’d never really had any features crystallize in his dream, just the feeling of being held. “His shoulders are maybe about yea wide though I think,” he said, gesturing with his arms.

“Hmm.” Lu Han’s tone is non-commital. “Maybe it’s the blacksmith. He has some broaaad shoulders.”

Yixing smacked him. “Shut up, you’re no help.”

Lu Han rubbed his arm. “If it helps, you’ve never had prophetic dreams before so I don’t think it would be that,” he said in a more serious tone.

Sighing, Yixing said, “I’m probably doomed to be forever alone. It’s my loneliness, eating away at my life.”

Rolling his eyes, Lu Han replied, “Now who’s being the dramatic one?”

_____________________

“You should tell him,” Lu Han told Chanyeol for the umpteenth time. “He sees you in his dreams, Chanyeol, what in the name of Mithros?”

“It’s not the right time,” insisted Chanyeol. “I’m waiting for the right time.” His face colored. “And I may or may not be cuddling him at night. He gets cold.”

“He gets cold—” Lu Han cut himself off and swore. “And what if the right time is snatched from under you?” There were light furrows between Lu Han’s eyebrows. “What then?”

“It won’t happen, but if it does I’ll deal with it. I always do,” he said with a tone of finality. “Let’s not argue, I hate arguing with you.”

“The man hates arguing but insists on doing the most idiotic… bah. I won’t have our last conversation end in argument.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “Last?”

Ruefully, Lu Han nodded. “I have another contract starting in two weeks, and the place is a week’s ride away. My work here is done, and the road is clear of snow for now.”

“But what about Baekhyun? You seemed to be getting along well with him.” 

Lu Han narrowed his eyes. “And what do you mean by that, Yeol?”

Whistling, Chanyeol said, “Nooothing. It just seems to me that you fancy being his mage.”

Shaking his head, Lu Han sighed. “It’s not like that. I find my horizons much broadened, with Yixing and Baekhyun here. But Baekhyun already has a mage. And I won’t get in their way.”

Chanyeol hummed thoughtfully, thinking of how fondly Kyungsoo regarded Lu Han. “If you say so, oh wise traveler. Gods be with you, friend.”

“And with you,” Lu Han said. He frowned at Chanyeol’s open arms before giving in to return the hug. Then Chanyeol shifted into dog form and gave Lu Han a sloppy kiss. Grimacing, Lu Han shoved Chanyeol away to walk them both back to the cottage, and say his farewells to Yixing.

_____________________

Chanyeol could tell Yixing was sad at seeing his friend go. It was hard to not cuddle him extra hard at night, because he was sad even then.

That’s when it hit him. Somewhere along the line, Chanyeol had fallen in love with Yixing. He pulled away, letting his eyes run over Yixing. I could stare at him forever, Chanyeol thought, watching the breaths escape from his soft, full mouth and wondering what it would be like to cover them with his own. If Chanyeol returned to cuddling him, he knew those soft sleeping breaths would fan across his collarbones, sending a deliciously electric thrill through his body.

They fit so well together, so solidly. It was almost as if Yixing intuitively knew how to cuddle Chanyeol in a way to make him feel like he belonged in Yixing’s arms.

He shook his head. That was all in his head; Yixing was not for him. He had promised to protect, not anything more. Chanyeol pushed down the feelings, as much as he could. He feared one of these days it would be too much for him to hold back.

_____________________

It must have been a few weeks after Lu Han left Snowsdale, and Yixing had just gotten used to thought-speaking with Chanyeol. The pup was reluctant to talk, but as before Yixing could get him to open up with some snippets from the past. Former homes. Not much detail, but Yixing wanted to be patient. Clearly his previous owners had been rough enough for Chanyeol to want to run away.

But one day, Yixing woke up from his usual dream and his dream was reality. The very naked man from his dreams was cuddling him, a very well-endowed, muscled man with silver hair. Sighing, Yixing cuddled closer to perfection, glad for the warmth in the still chilly ending of the winter months.

It certainly felt like a dream, running hands over a well-sculpted back. It was only when a very human hum of satisfaction emerged that Yixing realized something was wrong.

Yixing yelped and scrambled away, falling off of the bed. With difficulty, he resisted the urge to cover his eyes at the sight of the stranger’s nakedness - he’s a healer for goodness sake - and gathered the blankets. He shivered in the chilly winter air, but that was all secondary to his confused waking thoughts.

Had he summoned the man from his dreams through sheer sexual desire? But no, that was silly. If that could happen, then why hadn’t Lu Han and Kyungsoo been summoned into his bed? Why this stranger?

As if he could hear Yixing’s busily roaring mind, the stranger stirred, craning his neck and yawning. The metal of the collar glinted and he gasped, recognizing those symbols. “ _Chanyeol?_ ”


	4. Chapter 4

Large, soft brown eyes snapped opened as the stranger cursed. “Oh bright Mithros, this is not good.”

Yixing found himself beginning to hyperventilate and tried to calm himself down, burying his face in his hands. Maybe if he pretended this wasn’t happening, he’d see his hound when he looked up again. Yixing peered up. Nope, still a naked man. He let out a long shuddering breath and said, “What in the name of all the gods is happening? How can you be Chanyeol?”

“I can explain,” the stranger—Chanyeol—gestured helplessly. “I think.” His muscles shifted under his gorgeous brown skin as he straightened on the bed. “Please don’t kick me out.”

“Kick you—ugh,” Yixing groaned, rubbing at his eyes. “It is way too early for this.” Chanyeol’s nakedness was making his body have all the wrong reactions—his mouth was dry, his chest tingled, and his morning wood _ached_. He never even realized it could _do_ that. “Let’s put you in some clothes first, so I’m not distracted,” Yixing mumbled, and went to his chest of clothes.

Mechanically, he rummaged through his collection. Did he even have anything this stranger’s—Chanyeol’s?—size? Finally he settled on a few pieces of clothing he’d inherited haphazardly from his father. 

Mutely, Chanyeol allowed Yixing to fuss over him. This in itself would have told Yixing who he was, as it paralleled his experience with the hound’s now easy obedience. The shirt fit Chanyeol surprisingly well, Yixing noting that the man’s broad shoulders and height were close enough to his father’s, though the breeches were a bit tight. 

Yixing took a step back and sat at his dining table. Chanyeol took the seat across from him. The silver hair was quite striking. Chanyeol was quite striking. 

And very human. But of course. So many things made sense now. That he’d had to use his Gift instead of his wild magic, that Chanyeol always reacted too intelligently….

Realizing he was staring, Yixing cleared his throat and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? That you were human?” It hurt, that Chanyeol had been keeping this secret all along. He even felt a bit humiliated, that Chanyeol had taken him for a fool.

“I couldn’t shapeshift for… a while.”

“How come?” Yixing asked, crossing his arms and leaning backwards.

“My magical Gift was close to drained when I used the last of it to shapeshift into dog form. It took a long time to replenish,” Chanyeol explained.Yixing nodded, his father experienced much the same. “Then, when I realized I could shift again, I…” Chanyeol paused, and lifted his eyes to meet Yixing’s. Yixing couldn’t look away, chest tightening unexpectedly at his expression. “I wanted to stay with you. I didn’t know if you’d let me if you knew I was human.”

“I….” Yixing trailed off, knowing that he wanted Chanyeol to stay. But he also needed his questions asked. Glancing at his collection of gemstones, he reached over and selected the garnet he’d imbued with a truth-speak spell. Quickly, he made a sign over the gemstone to activate it. If Chanyeol lied, it would surround Chanyeol’s face in an aura of red fire, visible only to Yixing. “I need you to answer some questions for me.”

Chanyeol nodded meekly. “Okay. Anything.”

“Who exactly are you?” 

“I’m from a family of Tyran merchants.” The look in Chanyeol’s eyes was hesitant, but Yixing didn’t see any flare of red to indicate a lie. It made sense, Tyra was close enough to Galla. It also didn’t answer his question though.

Leaning forward, Yixing continued, “Okay. Then why are you here and not in Tyra?”

Chanyeol bit his lip and looked away, but not before Yixing caught the sadness in his eyes. “It was an accident. The rest of the group traveling with me died.”

Yixing suddenly felt bad for interrogating Chanyeol, but there were things he needed to know. “I’m sorry… to hear that.” He swallowed, and then barged forward with his questions. “From what?”

“An attack on Fort Drell.”

 _Fort Drell_. That’s where his mother had been attacked, Yixing realized. “By that rogue group of warriors?” he asked, worried.

Chanyeol hesitated, and Yixing’s heart sank. Was he about to tell a lie? “I only managed to escape in the confusion,” he finally said. No red, despite the strange pause. Yixing sighed and let his Gift relax, taking his hand off of the truthspell. If Chanyeol had wanted to hurt Yixing, he could have done it a long time ago. He probably didn’t need to further this interrogation. 

Making up his mind, Yixing walked over and pulled Chanyeol into his embrace. He felt more than heard Chanyeol’s breath catch before Chanyeol wrapped his arms around him too and hugged him. 

This too was familiar, and Yixing knew this had happened before. It should’ve been creepy, but instead it felt good, like they belonged like this. “I’ll let you stay,” he whispered, “I wish you’d just told me earlier.”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol whispered, "And I’m sorry.” They stayed in the embrace until Chanyeol reluctantly let him go, leaning back. As he did, the light caught on the collar around his neck. Yixing frowned at it in recognition, but decided not to ask about it. He may have been a Tyran merchant at one point, but now that Chanyeol was no longer a dog it was obvious that collar was one only slaves wore.

 _Chanyeol has been through enough and he probably didn’t want to talk about it_ , Yixing decided. Straightening, he asked, “Now would you like a meal for a human?”

For that, he got his first smile from Chanyeol and a shy nod. Though tentative, it made Yixing’s chest bloom with warmth.

_____________________

Chanyeol watched from a human point of view for the first time as Yixing laid out a simple breakfast of bread and cheese. His heart lifted at the prospect of using utensils. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Yixing said, noticing his expression.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol replied absent-mindedly as he reached out for the knife. He scratched at the collar around his neck before forcing his hand down. Glancing at Yixing, Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile at the awkward set of his shoulders paired with the determined frown on his face. He could tell Yixing wanted to act normal but couldn’t figure out how. It was easy reading him, after being with him for a few months.

He was grateful Yixing let the topic of his collar drop. That was something he couldn’t hide, unlike his other secrets. They ate in silence, Chanyeol a bit clumsily as he wasn’t used to his human hands. The silence was comfortable though, and Chanyeol helped Yixing wipe everything off when they were done.

Yixing dressed in his robes and looked at Chanyeol with uncertainty. He could read the hidden debate, and made a decision for Yixing. “I’ll shapeshift? I… like being with you.”

Evidently it was the right thing to say, as Yixing’s shoulders relaxed. “If that’s all right,” Yixing ventured.

Chanyeol nodded and began to shed his clothes. He smiled when Yixing quickly turned his back, the tips of his ears going red. _Cute_ , he mind-spoke to Yixing after he’d finished shifting. _I’m done now, you can look._

 _Shush, you. Let’s go_ , Yixing told him gruffly before holding the door open for him. Chanyeol bounded out, tail wagging despite himself. He was used to being a dog now. Being a human was scary and unexplored, and could wait until later.

The day was strange. Not necessarily in a bad way. Today all Yixing had planned to do was buying food at the market and hunting. Chanyeol helped him as usual, only garnering strange looks from Yixing when he did very dog-like behaviors.

That night too was strange. Chanyeol was relieved when Yixing pulled out a spare pallet. “I keep this for when my sister or Ma visits,” Yixing explained. 

It felt wrong, but Chanyeol knew it had also been wrong of him to sleep with Yixing at night. He made no protest.

The next few days were the same as usual, with the two exceptions of Yixing’s notable lack of confiding in Chanyeol and laying low from people who knew Yixing well. He felt bad, like walking on eggshells around Yixing. Chanyeol could feel it coming to a head, that something was going to happen. 

Finally Yixing had avoided his closer Snowsdale friends enough. Kyungsoo demanded his help through another Byun messenger boy. In dog form, Chanyeol studied Yixing as he first read the missive, then folded it up. Yixing told the boy, “Let him know I’ll be there in twenty. If you excuse me, I’ll go get ready.”

The boy nodded and dashed off. Yixing sighed and looked at Chanyeol. “Act normal when you see Kyungsoo, okay?”

Chanyeol gave him a look, to try to say, “You’re the one not being normal.” Instead, all he said was, Okay. He hesitated, and then felt bad about his snark. It wasn’t Yixing’s fault he didn’t know how to act around Chanyeol - it was Chanyeol’s. _Sorry for making this difficult on you._

“Please don't be sorry,” Yixing replied, looking chagrined. "I'm sorry for being weird." He scratched Chanyeol's ears. "You're the same Chanyeol after all," Yixing smiled and Chanyeol felt the guilt of his untold story surge up. _It’s still not the right time_ , he told himself. In fact, if Yixing got used to this… he’d never have to tell.

Chanyeol sure hoped that would be the case.

_____________________

When they arrived at the new apothecary in the Byun Castle, Kyungsoo complained about all the space he had. “I don’t need five hundred shelves, for only a few hundred herbs,” he grumbled to Yixing. “I can’t even reach half of these, for Mithros’ sake!” 

Chanyeol whuffed in laughter. “Not you too,” Kyungsoo told Chanyeol before bending over to pat him on the head. “It feels like your dog is laughing at me.”

“Haha, I think you’re imagining things,” Yixing replied nervously. Chanyeol wanted to smack himself on the head at Yixing’s transparency. “You’re tall enough for some of those shelves!” 

“And for the rest of them, you have a tall assistant. The architects didn’t plan for a dwarf to use these quarters!” Baekhyun called from the doorway. Yixing laughed as Kyungsoo scrambled down the ladder to smack Baekhyun on the head. “Ow! Is that any way to treat your illustrious sponsor?”

“If he’s being annoying in my apothecary I can,” Kyungsoo muttered and spun. Baekhyun hugged him from behind and Chanyeol watched in amusement as Kyungsoo flailed. 

Wagging his tail, he turned to look at Yixing’s response. Instead, he found Yixing spacing out in his direction, not even paying attention to his friends. They locked eyes and Chanyeol swallowed. Not wanting Yixing’s spaciness to draw their attention, Chanyeol ambled over to Kyungsoo and stood up on his hind legs to brace himself on Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun cheered as Kyungsoo grumbled, “Not you too!” Before long though, he was laughing.

Yixing came up and pulled Chanyeol away. “No, _bad_ Chanyeol,” he said sharply.

Shocked by Yixing’s curt tone, Chanyeol curled up on himself and whined. Baekhyun frowned as he let go of Kyungsoo. “There’s no need for you to be so harsh on Chanyeol.”

Even Yixing seemed shocked at his own outburst. “I—I’m sorry, I’m not myself today.” He smiled wanly at the others. “Maybe not enough sleep?”

“Go get some rest, then. Come tomorrow, though, these herbs won’t sort themselves,” Kyungsoo reassured him with a shooing motion. “Be careful on your way back!”

“Thanks,” said Yixing and waved. He reached out as if to pat Chanyeol but stopped, clenching his hand into a fist and walking away instead. Ears drooping, Chanyeol made to follow. 

As they left, Chanyeol looked behind him and saw Baekhyun and Kyungsoo looking after them, slightly worried expressions on their faces. He wagged his tail and they waved fondly at Chanyeol. On second glance, right before the door swung shut behind them, he saw Baekhyun backing Kyungsoo into a corner. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes but was softly smiling, letting his hands rest on Baekhyun’s hips.

He whipped his head around, feeling winded. Was that what he wanted with Yixing? Would that even be possible, since Yixing was so used to Chanyeol being a dog?

They walked in silence, trodding the familiar road to Yixing’s cottage. Chanyeol chanced a glance at Yixing. He had a slight frown on his face, not paying attention to where they were walking when suddenly something zipped in front of his face. Startled, Yixing stumbled backwards and landed on his butt. “What was that?” Yixing asked.

 _I’m not sure_ , Chanyeol thought-spoke. He scanned their surroundings before it came again, dive-bombing at Yixing. This time, Yixing grabbed it, wrestling it to the ground. 

It was a tiny winged woman, the size of a song sparrow. She spat high-pitched curses at them, indecipherable partly due to the speed of her talk, beating at Yixing’s fist with her free arms and iridescent, butterfly-like wings. Her legs were secured by Yixing’s hands, otherwise Chanyeol was sure they’d be kicking too. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Yixing said patiently, his healer’s instincts kicking in. “Can you tell us—me what is wrong?”

Pausing for breath only to glare at him, she continued on in her tirade. Loosening his hand, Yixing tried again. “I apologize for interrupting, but I cannot understand you.” 

Chanyeol could swear he could see her roll her eyes. As if speaking to a very small child, she began again, “Send your stinkers back where they came from, Tortallan!”

“Stinkers?” Yixing asked in confusion. 

“Don’t ya know? Big clacking bird-humans? Steel feathers?” she spat accusingly.

Yixing gasped and Chanyeol’s eyes widened. _Stormwings?_ they thought-spoke in unison.

She scowled. “Yes, Stormwings.” Their eyes snapped to her. So she could hear their thought-speak as well. 

“Can we take this conversation somewhere private?” Yixing asked, nodding in the direction of his cottage. “They are not my friends, and I would like to know more from you. If you don’t mind,” he added hastily.

“Do I have a choice?” she gestured, “You’re crumpling up my dress with your gigantic hands.”

Yixing immediately released her. “But of course you have a choice.” He hesitated. “Do you know what he is?” 

Her eyes narrowed. “Of course I do. He’s a human that likes being a dog for some reason.”

“You heard the woman. We’re far enough away that you should shapeshift,” Yixing told him. Chanyeol sighed. He’d figured that was the case, and bounded down to the cottage to retrieve his clothes. Even if Yixing had already seen him naked, he probably needed clothes to stand up to the tiny but fierce winged woman. 

He shapeshifted to enter the cottage, and quickly located the clothes Yixing had pulled out for him. As Chanyeol dressed, he realized Yixing had strategically maneuvered it so he’d time alone with the winged woman. His metaphorical hackles rose. He didn’t trust her, not one bit. Even though he didn’t think she could do him too much damage, as soon as he was dressed he threw open the door to get to Yixing.

To his surprise, they were sitting outside and laughing about something. Cautiously, he approached and Yixing got to his feet. “Did you know Yerim knows so much village gossip? Oh, Yerim, this is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, Yerim.”

He stared at Yerim as warily as she did before they finally nodded at each other. Still, Chanyeol turned to Yixing. “Are you sure you’re safe talking with her?” 

Yixing crossed his arms. “As safe as I am talking with you, since I just found out today about you being a human.”

It was annoying that they couldn’t even think-speak to each other in private. Chanyeol wanted to say so many things - yell at Yixing for taking unnecessary risks, say something about how he just wanted to protect him, general frustration. Instead, he inserted himself firmly between Yerim and Yixing. “Whatever. Now that you know we don’t know anything about the Stormwings, you can leave right?”

Yerim rolled her eyes and crossed her arms too. “Not so fast. You still haven’t really shown me any proof you’re not associated with them. Besides, I overheard them say your name.” 

She pointed at Chanyeol, and his heart dropped. He whirled around to face Yixing, and sure enough there was shock on Yixing’s face. “Chanyeol, why would there be Stormwings mentioning your name?” Yixing whispered.

Chanyeol’s mind had gone blank. “I can explain…” he said, trailing off. What could he explain? He’d tried so hard not to mention anything related to his life in Scanra.

Yixing’s brow furrowed. “Stormwings are mostly located in Scanra and Carthak… both enemies of Tortall.” He froze. Slowly, Yixing continued, “But you said you were from Tyra.”

If Chanyeol told the truth now, Yixing would never trust him again. But if he told him a lie, that would only fall apart even worse on him later. If Yixing connected the dots, it would only point to Chanyeol being a slave from one of those areas.

Still, his hesitation made Yixing’s face fall in disappointment. “Please talk to me Chanyeol….” he said quietly. Turning to Yerim, he asked, “Yerim, can you give us a moment?”

“Um, yeah sure. This got real awkward all of a sudden. Hope your gods help somehow,” Yerim chirped and zipped out the open doorway.

With her gone, Chanyeol realized he knew what he had to do. He knelt and put his hands together. Trembling, feeling like he was laying himself bare—it had been a while since he’d been last restrained like this—he offered them to Yixing. Cringing and begging for forgiveness had always worked with Inar even in his sourest of moods, to know he had power over Chanyeol. 

Before he could say something, Yixing had already rushed to his side and grabbed his wrists, making him lower them. “Chanyeol, look at me.”

His tone held no accusatory tone, only urgency. Surprised, Chanyeol complied, meeting Yixing’s blue-gray eyes. The betrayal was still there, but mostly worry shone through. “Please don’t ever do that,” Yixing said pleadingly, and bit his lip. “You’re my equal. I… I’m trying to be understanding because I know that collar is a slave collar. I figured we’d have to talk about this sooner or later.” 

“But that’s the opposite of what this collar means,” Chanyeol whispered. “It means I’ll never be your equal.” He cast his eyes down. “Even though I escaped to here, I think the Stormwings are here to get me.”

“Wrong,” Yixing said fiercely, and took Chanyeol’s hands into his own. “I’m sorry for doubting you. I won’t let them take you.” He kissed Chanyeol’s knuckles and Chanyeol’s lips parted in a gasp at the sweet gesture. “You’re with me now.” 

His chest ached. Would he say the same if he knew Chanyeol had tried to kill his parents? He shook his head. _Forget about that, he doesn’t have to know. This… this is enough_. “Yixing…” he whispered, tightening his fingers around Yixing’s before bringing them to his own lips. “Thank you.” 

_You’d almost think I made him! What a dearie_ , the Hag’s voice sounded in his ears. Chanyeol would roll his eyes but he was too preoccupied by the beautiful man in front of him, looking at him with an emotion Chanyeol felt mirrored in his own eyes.

As if drawn by a magnet, he crawled forward to be closer to Yixing. Slowly, he moved his hands along Yixing’s arms, up his neck, drawing a lovely shiver from him as his eyelids drooped. Chanyeol didn’t stop until he cupped Yixing’s cheeks, gently running a finger over Yixing’s dimple. 

Heat ran through him when Yixing’s hooded eyes briefly dropped to his lips and then snapped back up. Heart pounding, Chanyeol slowly leaned in, trying to give Yixing time to draw away if he didn’t want it. Instead, Yixing closed his eyes and leaned forward so Chanyeol captured Yixing’s full, sensual mouth in a kiss. 

It was sweet, chaste, their lips moving against each other and Yixing sighed into Chanyeol’s mouth. Chanyeol felt Yixing’s hands reach around his waist, pulling him closer. He obeyed the unspoken command, rearranging his long legs to straddle Yixing. They continued to kiss, until Yixing broke them apart. “I think all that time spent cuddling me built up some tension,” he joked breathlessly. “You’re lucky I found that more cute than creepy.”

“I am a lucky man indeed,” Chanyeol agreed just as breathlessly, and tried to seek Yixing’s mouth for another kiss.

“Wait,” Yixing said pushing at Chanyeol’s chest. “I just… I need a moment.” He heaved a breath and laughed. “This is all so strange to me. You are… you were my dog. But you are a… man,” Yixing whispered, looking up into Chanyeol’s eyes.

“I’ve never been just a dog, Yixing,” Chanyeol whispered, pressing his body into Yixing’s. They both sighed at the feeling of fitting together, as if they’d done this many times before. “But… you’re right, I am sorry. That was really creepy of me. I just couldn’t help myself.”

In response, Yixing hugged him tightly. “I can’t really complain. The dreams were nice.”

Humming, Chanyeol was about to reply when a tiny, annoyingly familiar voice screeched, “Gross, my eyes!”

“You were the one who insisted on coming back here. I _told_ you to give them a few moments, Yerim,” another female voice chimed in.

Groaning, Yixing pushed slightly at Chanyeol. “We still have a Stormwing situation to help deal with,” he reminded Chanyeol.

“I don’t wanna, I’m comfy,” Chanyeol whined.

“You are much too heavy in this form for me to get up like this. Please get off of me.”

Solution: Chanyeol shapeshifted into a beagle and wagged his tail up at Yixing. Rolling his eyes at Chanyeol, Yixing wrapped his arms around Chanyeol and stood up, letting Chanyeol’s now vacated clothes fall to the ground. “Hello again, Yerim,” he greeted the winged woman, and bowed to the newcomer. “And hello…?”

“You can call me Wendy,” the other winged woman informed him. “I’m here to apologize for the conclusions this brat,” she glared at Yerim, who stuck out her tongue at her, “may have made with her hasty words.”

“They did mention him,” Yerim whined. “That is highly suspicious! You heard them too!” 

“Well yes, but unlike you I stayed around long enough to also overhear that they wanted to hurt him. Doesn’t sound very ally-like to me.”

 _They’re… probably associated with my former master’s son_. That was safe enough to say. The Stormwings had always liked young master Kris, and some had even adopted him, in a way. Stormwings found it difficult to sire their own children, and so treated the young of other species with care. Chanyeol had been an exception, as Inar had isolated him from the Stormwings.

“Kris? The one who resented you?” Chanyeol nodded and Yixing held him closer, following up with, “Do you have any idea what he could be doing here?”

 _I don’t know. I don’t even know how he knew I was here. For all he knew, I died months ago_ , Chanyeol replied.

“No use debating it. Anyway, what Yeri failed to mention,” Wendy interrupted, shooting a glance at a pouting Yerim, “was that they’re not the problem. Rather, you know how your friend placed those wards around Snowsdale? Annoying things, those, but since they were only alarms for large Immortals we tolerated them.”

“Yes?” Yixing asked, not liking where this was going. He wished Lu Han were still here, they worked well together.

“Well, the Stormwings nullified a section with their magic, since they wanted to make their camp. We could feel the distortions since our homes are close by.”

 _Oh no_ , Chanyeol thought-spoke.

“Oh no is right,” Wendy replied grimly. “A whole cluster of spidrens is on their way to that section and exact revenge on the unsuspecting villagers of Snowsdale, for the one you killed.”

_____________________

“Wait, how did you know we’d killed one?” Yixing asked, frowning.

“Well, spidrens aren’t exactly friends of us faeries. We’re too small to make more than a quick bite, but they—” Wendy broke off, face darkening. 

Yerim put a hand on Wendy’s shoulder. “They torture us,” she finished quietly. “We almost lost our sister, but your presence distracted it from the killing blow. She’s okay now, but please, help us with this too.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, I’ll do my best,” Yixing said. He took a deep breath, settling into business mode. “Were you able to count how many spidrens?” 

“No,” Yerim shook her head as she hugged Wendy. “They travel in the darkness and it wasn’t safe for us to remain close enough to count them.”

Yixing paced. “That’s too bad. In any case, I’ll need backup….”

Chanyeol leapt out of his arms to shapeshift again. “I can help,” he said, covering himself with his clothes again. “I trained my Gift with a master. He was a scarlet robe at the university in Carthak.”

“That may be, but it would be foolhardy even with the two of us.” He turned his gaze on the two winged women. “Can I ask you to bring Kyungsoo here? I’m assuming you know who he is too.”

Yerim began to protest. “We don’t—”

“Yeri, not now. Besides, we can’t go home after those disgusting things left webs on our trees last night. It’s not safe for us.” She took Yerim’s hand and Yerim quieted, still pouting. Then she turned to Yixing and nodded. “Yes, I’ll go get him.”

“Thank you.” He watched them fly out and sighed. “I never even got a chance to ask what magic they had. Fascinating.”

“We should figure out how we’ll tackle this,” Chanyeol interrupted Yixing’s train of thoughts. 

“First, we should deal with the Stormwings and Kris. Then we need to restore that barrier somehow, or at least plug it until Lu Han can return and fix it. It’s too bad… unless?” Yixing quirked an eyebrow at Chanyeol, who was looking shifty. “Can you?”

“Maybe,” Chanyeol hedged. More surprises from this man. Yixing kind of hoped it would end soon.

“Okay. We’ll plug that, deal with whatever Kris wants, and then somehow defeat the spidrens. Good enough plan?”

Chanyeol frowned. “Actually, we should talk about it more in detail….” And so on their conversation went, outlining possible tactics with the different Gifts each of them had. Yixing could see Chanyeol didn’t quite believe Yixing had the capability for war magic, but shrugged. Chanyeol would see.

“Great Mother grant us strength,” Yixing sighed when he thought they’d talked enough. “In the end, it’ll probably be sheer luck that’ll get us through.”

“Speaking of… I’ve had a question.” Chanyeol’s voice was hesitant, so Yixing cocked his head in interest. 

“Yes?”

“Why do you swear on the Goddess?”

“Oh, that. Well, I’ve always identified more with Her than the other gods. It’s said that she’s kind to men who are inclined to like men, but the literature has never been clear. My grandmother says She probably doesn’t mind? Ah, speaking of,” he noticed the discreet change in the atmosphere, signaling a visit from the Divine Realms.

“Speaking of…?” Chanyeol asked before hastily retreating behind Yixing from the intensifying shimmering in the air. 

“Grandma!” Yixing said, brightening and throwing himself towards the apparition. It had been so long… his fault, he realized as his grandmother hugged him and then frowned at him. 

“Why did it take so long for you to call upon me?” she scolded. 

Yixing meekly responded, “I got kind of busy? With him?” 

The Green Lady turned her luminous, godly eyes on Chanyeol, who shrank even further. “You’re lucky I can’t say anything. She made me promise not to.” _She?_ wondered Yixing for a second, but the thought passed quickly when Sarra turned to Yixing. “And you, stop exerting your Gift and wild magic so much. Let them work together, like Lu Han showed you. But here’s some back. You’ll need it.”

Yixing took her hand and felt instantly rejuvenated. “Are you even allowed to do that?” he asked, and then hastily followed up with, “Not that I’m not grateful. I am.”

Chuckling, Sarra ruffled Yixing’s hair. “Since you’re in Snowsdale, I can bend a few rules. Best of luck, I can’t tell how this will go but I have faith in you.” She was gone as suddenly as she had come. Yixing thought he heard Chanyeol mutter something like, “Gods.” He was surprised at how nonchalantly Chanyeol had reacted to his grandmother, but at that moment the two faeries zipped past his face. 

“Get rid of them!” yelled Yerim before they disappeared.

Shaking his head at her audacity, Yixing stepped forward to greet the newcomer with a hug. “Kyungsoo! Long time no see.”

“The little faeries filled me in as we came. I hear we have a spidren problem?” Kyungsoo asked, getting straight to the issue. Yixing’s not surprised Kyungsoo knew what faeries were. But then Kyungsoo’s eyes widened when they landed on Chanyeol. “And who’s this?” _Oh gods curse it, I forgot to ask him to shapeshift back_ , Yixing realized, mouth falling open and trying to silently tell Chanyeol to not say anything.

“Um, I’m Chanyeol,” Chanyeol replied hesitantly. 

Luckily, Kyungsoo’s next question was, “Did you name your dog after him? How come I’ve never met him?” 

“Something like that,” Yixing hedged, seeing Kyungsoo’s expression become suspicious. Putting his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, Yixing veered him towards the door. “Anyway, now’s not the time. I’ll explain as we go.”

_____________________

Kris really shouldn’t have come here. He wasn’t even sure any more what he wanted to do with Chanyeol, now that he had found him in the middle of godsforsaken nowhere, Snowsdale.

“We should just leave,” he told Amber and Tao, wrapping his bearskin cape even more tightly around his shoulders. 

The two Stormwings glared at him, and Tao ruffled his steel wings in a manner that could only be described as baleful. “You came here for a reason, so no.”

“Tao’s right,” Amber replied, adjusting her perch on the tree. “Finish your unfinished business, and then we can move on with life.” 

They’d always parented Kris. Stormwings found it difficult to sire their own children, and so treated the young of other species with care. Amber and Tao had adopted Kris in their own way, trying to guide him towards decisions that would be good for him.

Like resolving this issue with Chanyeol. “But what am I even supposed to say to him? Sorry for sending you on a suicide mission, I just kind of had daddy issues and took them out on you?”

“That’s a good start, dearie,” Amber told him, yawning. “Then tell him he’s free and his collar can come off.”

Kris sat down with a heavy sigh. “It won’t be that easy. He’s with the son of my father’s archenemy. My father would want me to kill both of them.” His hand went to the ruby at his throat, fingering it nervously. The ruby that had once been embedded into his father’s eye, the ruby Kris could not let go of despite it only holding bad memories for him. Though his father’s murderer had thrown it into the river, it had found its way to Kris somehow. Magic, he’d thought. 

Sometimes he wished it had never found him. It made it difficult for Kris to let go of his resentment, his memories from the past. But he could not let it go, for it was all he had of his father. The ruby also made him feel stronger, more of an Inarsra than anything. So he kept it a secret from both Tao and Amber, even though Kris could almost feel the sinister energy in it. He could almost imagine it telling him _kill them both, they deserved to die_ —

He dropped it as if scalded, and shook himself back into the conversation. Tao was ranting at him. “...how many times have we discussed that you. Are. Not. Your. Father?” Tao snapped at him, emphasizing each word with a snap of his steel feathers. He could barely listen over the anger coiling in his heart. 

“I may not be him, but I still resent them both.” Kris reached for the ruby again despite his misgivings about it, because he wanted to hear its logic. “Chanyeol for stealing my father’s attention, and Yixing for having his father while his father killed mine.”

Amber snapped to look at him, worry in her gaze. “That’s not what we’d talked about, Kris.”

“It’s not, but it’s the truth.” Everything was becoming more clear, the longer he touched the ruby. “It’s their fault.”

It was Tao who noticed the ruby. “Wait, when did you—”

“Shh, someone’s coming,” Amber hissed. Kris’s other hand drew the sword hanging from his belt, ready. He withdrew into the shadow of a tree, concealing his large body. “What are you doing with that sword? This was supposed to be—”

Out stepped Chanyeol and Yixing, the two he must eliminate. Months of self-reflection and rational thought were overwhelmed by the magic of the ruby, and Kris yelled a Scanran battle cry as he ran forward into the forest enclosure with his sword.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder to not think too hard about the Tortallan timeline... for all intents and purposes of this story Chanyeol should be 26-ish and Yixing (Rikash) 20. I know that's not how the actual math works out but welp there you have it.

They had a split second to react to the sudden assault, and Chanyeol threw himself in front of Yixing. The sword bit into the meat of his shoulder and he yelled in pain. Using his Gift, he sent Kris flying with an expanding barrier from his body. Kris landed with an oof, and Chanyeol clasped his shoulder in pain.

“Chanyeol!”

“Stand back,” he gasped, and walked closer, covering the distance between them in the forest clearing. “Please, if you’re here to kill me get it over with and leave.” The sadness washed over him as Chanyeol took in the familiar features. Even winded, Kris was more handsome than Inar had ever been. With his short-cropped blonde hair, conspicuous lack of beard, and better dress, Kris could not be more physically different from his father.

It reminded Chanyeol of how different their personalities were, too. If not for Inar’s cruelty and Chanyeol’s status as a slave, Kris and Chanyeol could have even been friends. Coughing, Kris stood up. “You always think it’s about you, even though you’re only a slave,” he sneered. “You make me sick.” He gripped something around his neck and uttered a guttural word in Scanran. The collar around his neck suddenly burned into and tightened into Chanyeol’s flesh, making him cry out.

A crack of lightning struck the ground between them, startling everyone. _Stormwing magic!_ Chanyeol thought as he collapsed against Yixing. _When had he gotten there?_ He could barely register Yixing saying, “Kyungsoo, help him. I’ll deal with them.” 

“No!” Chanyeol tried to say but the collar had tightened so much he couldn’t speak.

Two Stormwings flew into view. Chanyeol recognized them as Tao and Amber, and closed his eyes. It was over now. The two had never really liked Chanyeol, associating him with the punishments from Inar if anything went wrong in the war operations. To his surprise, he heard them say, “You idiot, stop attacking them! This isn’t what we’d discussed.”

“Shut up, Tao,” Kris yelled. He got up and narrowed his eyes at Yixing. “You should get out of my way so I can kill the slave once and for all. Or maybe I should kill you too, for my family.”

“No I won’t,” Yixing said, before processing what Kris had said. “Your family?” 

Kris blinked, and then threw his head back in an ugly laugh. “Oh, this is too good. You never told him, Chanyeol?”

This was it, Yixing was going to hate him forever and there was nothing Chanyeol could do about it. “Please don’t,” he tried to whisper. _Don’t listen to him, Yixing._

A horrible smile split Kris’s face as he said, “I sent Chanyeol to kill your parents or die trying.” He spat. “Now he’ll wish he died then.”

Shocked, Kyungsoo let go of the healing on Chanyeol, looking at him with betrayal. But Chanyeol was focused on Yixing stepping back in horror. “No, that can’t be true.” He turned to meet Chanyeol’s eyes in question. “Right? I mean, you were there… at the same time…” he faltered when Chanyeol didn’t respond. “Chanyeol? Say something.”

 _I can’t lie to you_ , Chanyeol said mournfully, and his chest hurt at the way Yixing’s face fell. “Thank you for healing me, Kyungsoo. And thank you, Yixing, for taking care of me.” _Please remember me fondly_ , he told Yixing.

“No, wait, Chanyeol—” but it was too late. Chanyeol summoned his primary attack form, dropping onto the paws of a snow leopard. He heard a gasp from Yixing, but dismissed it as surprise. Most shapeshifting Gifts only allowed one other form. Growling a warning at Yixing to stay back, Chanyeol nimbly side-stepped Kyungsoo’s grasp and leapt over Yixing to attack Kris.

Kris barely threw up his sword in time to counteract Chanyeol’s claws, and used his strength to throw him. They circled each other, but before Kris could strike he was buffeted by a strong wind. “Wha—?”

“That’s _enough_ , Kris!” Amber roared, and tried to swipe at the ruby. She yelled in frustration, staying aloft with Stormwing magic. “Put that gods-damned sword and ruby down now!” Amber swept a wing in Chanyeol’s direction. “You were here to apologize, for goodness sake!”

The twisted look on Kris’s face faded to one of faint horror. The sword in his hand clattered to the ground as he grabbed his other hand, holding the ruby. “Let go of me, damned jewel!” Kris yelled as he wrestled it off his chest. Chanyeol felt a wave of evil magic and despite himself, darted over to help. 

_I command you to release him_ , he snarled at the ruby, lashing at it with his Gift. Recognizing familiar magic, the ruby relinquished its hold on Kris’ sanity. Grunting with effort, Kris finally yanked the ruby off his neck and threw it to the ground. Quickly, Amber and Tao both cast lightning magic on the ruby, shattering it once and for all.

Chests heaving, everyone looked at each other in a stunned silence. Then Kris slowly looked up from the remains of his father’s eye and met Chanyeol’s gaze. “Chanyeol Park, I hereby free you of your slavery. You have more than fulfilled your debt to my family.”

Chanyeol let out a gasp as the slave collar fell open. He lost his snow leopard form, clutching wonderingly at his throat. Kris swallowed and threw his bearskin cape at Chanyeol. “But… what?” Chanyeol asked as he covered himself with it.

“I was not myself when I sent you off to die,” Kris said slowly, looking… ashamed? “I came here to rectify that, but… _that_ overcame me.” He spat at the ruby shards in disgust.

A hand landed on Chanyeol’s shoulder. He jerked up and found it was Yixing. But Yixing was looking at Kris. “You must be the son of Inar Hadensra. That ruby… my father told me about him.” His face darkened. “He should have destroyed it.”

“No, it’s my fault. I should have tried to destroy it,” Kris said. “I just… have so little of him. My father. I should’ve known that jewel was bad too.”

“Oh, Kris,” Tao said sadly. “You should’ve told us about it. Hatred like that always gets compounded into jewels.” Chanyeol watched Tao heave a long-suffering parental sigh and fly to perch on the tree. “You used to tell us everything.”

Amber snorted. “Except when he was going through puberty. Don’t just remember the times he was cute and sweet to us.” She glanced around. “Why is everyone looking so grim?”

Hesitantly, Chanyeol draped the bearskin cape around his lower half. “So you’re not going to kill me?”

“Yes, I freed you so now my evil plan is to kill you,” Kris said drily. Then he sobered up and shook his head. “No, I actually came here to apologize.” He hung his head. “I’m sorry for not doing something earlier.”

Chanyeol widened his eyes. “But you couldn’t do anything,” he said. Not Kris, Gift-less son of the most powerful shaman in Scanra. In fact, Kris had been the most powerless of them all, dependent on Inar to not do away with him. “I’m just glad you didn’t add to my… treatment,” Chanyeol said carefully, eyeing Yixing’s frown.

Kris turned to look at the Stormwings, and it was Amber and Tao’s turn to look guilty. “We came to apologize too, because we could have helped,” Amber admitted. “His magic did not have as much of an effect on us. We realized too late that he wasn’t just training and using you as an animal spy, but also draining you when it was convenient.”

Behind him, Chanyeol heard Yixing and Kyungsoo gasp. Gift draining had been the worst part of being a magical pet. So many days had been spent in a magical fever, as Inar used his power almost dry. That last time, it had sent him into a _coma_ for almost a decade. He tried to shrug it off. “I was a slave, a magical pet. What else could I expect?”

Amber opened her mouth but whatever she’d been about to say was cut off when Tao hissed, “Wait, do you sense that?”

Glaring at him, she closed her eyes and then her expression changed, becoming grim. “I do. Spidrens.”

Just as she said that, a crash from the forest and a chill ran through Chanyeol as he heard bloodthirsty, inhuman shireks. Dusk had fallen, and the spidrens were coming.

_____________________

Moving quickly, Yixing prepared his Gift. “We can get back to this conversation later,” he told Chanyeol. “Right now, can you draw a barrier around me and get everyone behind me and out of the barrier?”

“Are you crazy?” Chanyeol spluttered. “Absolutely not.”

“Do it or Goddess help me we will all perish,” Yixing snapped, and returned to direction of the spidren screams. “Black God bear you up and give you peace,” he whispered as his fingers tingled something fierce. His Gift knew he was about to handle fire, and answered the call with glee. 

From the corner of his eye he could see Kyungsoo, bless him, hurriedly yelling at everyone to get back. All of them could probably sense the power Yixing was gathering, wild and delighted. Yixing himself shuddered at his own power, disliking how hungry it was to destroy. “Chanyeol!” he yelled desperately, worry rising in his chest for all in the forest clearing. His mind provided horrible visions of the fire--his fire--spreading to Snowsdale and burning everything down.

But it was too late. There was no way to stop his war magic now though, as tiny sparks from his hands erupted into blazes. They crackled almost merrily, spreading in a half-circle in front of him. Gritting his teeth, he saw the spidrens pour out from the forest and let go of the flames. He knew he would hear the dying screams of the spidrens echoed in his dreams and waited for the pained cries from his friends.

Instead, as if in slow motion, he saw the yellow of Chanyeol’s Gift flow around Yixing and the diameter of his attempted half-circle. _Thank you_ , Yixing breathed in relief and now focused on blasting the spidrens pouncing at him. At the periphery of his vision he could see the Stormwings also blasting the spidrens with their lightning magic. 

It seemed ridiculous how many spidrens there were, but finally the flow of oncoming spidrens came to a halt. Someone yanked Yixing out of the barrier - Kyungsoo, from the feel of the healing magic flowing into Yixing. He watched, slightly dazed, as Chanyeol completed the yellow barrier around the fire and extinguished it with lack of oxygen.

“I hate how that takes out so much less from me than healing,” Yixing complained to Kyungsoo. He pointed at the burnt trees. “All this destruction.” Everyone stared at Yixing and the ashes behind him in awed silence. “What?”

“I… won’t ever underestimate you again,” Chanyeol told him seriously, eyes solemn. 

“Nor I,” Kyungsoo and Kris chorused and then glanced warily at each other.

“Well, good,” Yixing said, and swayed on his feet. Chanyeol rushed to his side to support him as Yixing felt his limbs become heavy. His eyelids felt like there were ten ton weights on them. 

“Yixing?” Chanyeol asked worriedly, hefting Yixing into his arms. 

_These are very nice arms. I shouldn’t be trusting you_ , Yixing told him in a delirious blur.

 _You shouldn’t, but I wish you would anyway_ , Chanyeol thought-replied. He pressed a kiss to Yixing’s forehead, and Yixing’s heart melted despite himself.

 _Ma always said I was too trusting for my own good_ , Yixing said before closing his eyes. Because he did trust Chanyeol despite all that he had recently learned of him, and leaned into Chanyeol’s chest to droop into a healing sleep.

_____________________

Chanyeol realized Yixing was now fully and completely asleep. Breathing a sigh of relief that Yixing still wanted to trust him, he squeezed Yixing in an awkward hug and put him down gently on the ground. Then he looked up to see everyone look at him appraisingly. “What?”

“Is it too early for me to say that me sending you on a suicide mission worked out well for you?” Kris tried to joke, and shrank under the Stormwings’ combined glares.

“You brat, seriously…” Amber grumbled, and then turned to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, her expression apologetic. “I apologize for my surrogate son’s lack of tact. That’s a lot, coming from a Stormwing.”

“It’s like he was raised by Stormwings,” Chanyeol replied drily and this time everyone laughed, albeit awkwardly. When they were done, Chanyeol continued, “Please don’t nullify the barrier again. I’ll fix it when we’re sure Yixing is stable.” He saw Kyungsoo gently move Yixing to the side and begin his healing work on Yixing, green Gift swirling from his hands.

Tao cleared his throat, and Chanyeol returned his attention to the Scanrans. “You won’t have to worry about it happening again. This bringing Kris to apologize will be a one time thing.”

“Still, we’re sorry… we didn’t realize it would literally bring down a horde of spidrens on us,” Amber continued, as she produced a cloth… swing? Chanyeol recognized it as a harness to be carried by Stormwings. “We should head back now that you’ve finished your business here, Kris.”

Kris nodded. He reached up to give Tao and Amber each an awkward hug, despite their stink. Chanyeol’s respect for him rose. “Thank you so much, for everything.

“Aw, don’t get sappy on us,” Tao said and retreated to help Amber set up the harness.

Returning to Chanyeol, Kris nodded his head, stilted but well-meaning. “Mithros bless your path forward.”

Chanyeol nodded. “And may the Hag roll well for you,” he said, and realized he meant it. Still, he made sure to watch them fly off, to make sure they were going. “How’s he doing?” Chanyeol asked, approaching Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at Chanyeol. “He’ll be fine, unless you try something funny.”

Raising a hand, Chanyeol solemnly replied, “I’ll swear a blood oath to not hurt him, ever.” A blood oath, if broken, would boil the blood of the swearer. A horrible way to die.

“Well, you don’t have to go that far. Please go patch the barrier though, it’ll take me a few more minutes to complete the healing.”

“He’s not that bad, is he?” Chanyeol asked, worried. He deflated with relief when Kyungsoo shook his head, and then complied when Kyungsoo shooed him off. He turned to the barrier and closed his eyes, reaching out with his Gift to feel the broken blue strands of Lu Han’s alarm wards. Slowly, he wove his yellow strands around them, binding to it, and closing the gap with careful precision.

He glanced at Kyungsoo, who looked impressed despite himself. “Looks almost as good as new.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth to respond, but froze when he heard the crackling of dead branches from the forest nearby. “You heard that too, right?” he asked Kyungsoo, who nodded. 

They stared into the forest and Baekhyun, of all people, emerged into the clearing. “What’d I miss? Wait, who are you?”

_____________________

Waking up in his bed, Yixing felt an intense deja vu. Looking to his side, he found Chanyeol instead of Baekhyun. He was sleeping with a hand curled tightly around Yixing’s. On his other side was Baekhyun, who put a hand on his mouth. “Kyungsoo filled me in,” he said and scowled. “I should’ve been there.”

“And be a liability?” Yixing asked, as gently as he could. “Besides, he didn’t have enough time to tell you. This was safer.” His stomach growled and his cheeks grew hot. “If I could bother you…?”

Baekhyun smiled. “That, I can do,” he said, handing over a bowl of soup. “Sorry it’s cold now. Leftovers from Kyungsoo.”

Yixing gingerly took the bowl and sipped at it, sighing at the savory flavor of the broth. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost a whole day. I think it was the impromptu healing that did you in again,” Baekhyun mused.

“So what happened after I fell asleep?”

Baekhyun filled him in as Yixing drank the rest of the soup. Though Baekhyun was fuzzy on the details before he arrived, he gestured wildly about the man who shapeshifted into a snow leopard to help carry Yixing to his cottage. “It was a sight to behold, Yixing. What a beautiful man—er, cat. And now you’re here. Who _is_ he, again?” Baekhyun finished.

Yixing hummed. “It’s complicated. I think he tried to kill my mother but then became my dog?”

“Complicated is one word for it,” said Baekhyun in a dry voice, and then did a double-take. “Wait, _what_? Yixing!”

Wincing at Baekhyun’s sudden yell, Yixing felt Chanyeol stir as well. “Yixing what?” Yixing asked in a whisper, trying to hush Baekhyun.

“Yixing NO,” Baekhyun continued to yell. “Where is your anger? What do you mean he tried to kill your mother?” He groaned. “And if Kyungsoo knew this, which I think he did, why the hell did he tell me to give you alone time with him?”

Yixing could feel his ears burn. “He said that?” Yixing asked meekly, and Baekhyun threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “If Kyungsoo accepts it, can you go talk to him? He can talk some sense into you.”

“Sense into—” Baekhyun spluttered, and then cut himself off. “Well, I know you can protect yourself better than anyone. Just… okay, I think I do need Kyungsoo to try to talk to me.” Baekhyun pointed a finger at Chanyeol, whose hair was sticking up weirdly from his nap. “But if I hear you try to hurt him, Mithros strike me down if I lie you will regret it.” He stormed out of the cottage.

Blinking, Chanyeol turned to Yixing. “Did I miss something?” he rumbled sleepily. Despite his sleep-mussed look, Yixing thought Chanyeol still looked so handsome in the morning light, silver hair looking soft and a beautiful smile on his face. On reflex, his hand reached out to ruffle Chanyeol’s hair. Chanyeol leaned into it before pouting. “Still not a dog, ya know.”

“Reflex. You did pretend for months to be a dog, deal with the consequences,” Yixing replied, continuing to pat Chanyeol’s head. His eyes then fell to where the collar used to be, and his smile faded. A letter in old Thak was almost embedded in Chanyeol’s skin. Yixing reached up for it and Chanyeol leaned forward to accommodate. “Power,” Yixing read. “Is this where he…?”

Yixing could feel Chanyeol swallow under his touch. “Yes.”

“We can get you different inks to cover it.” He drew his fingers along the symbol, feeling sad. “I know a person.”

Chanyeol was quiet for a moment before saying, “I am fine for now. It would be… strange to be rid of all the things that mark me as a slave so quickly.” He raised a hand to cover Yixing’s. “I am sorry for trying to kill your mother.”

Yixing shook his head before stopping, feeling a bit dizzy. “You didn’t have a choice,” he said, turning his hand to take Chanyeol’s and letting their entwined hands drop to Chanyeol’s lap. 

Chanyeol leaned back as he played with Yixing’s fingers. “I did. It was either your mother or me, and I took my chances.” Chanyeol laughed bitterly. “I should have asked to die instead of trying to take another’s life for my freedom.”

Drawing Chanyeol’s hand to his lips, Yixing kissed it. “That’s not really a choice, Chanyeol. Besides, my mother is used to this sort of thing. She wrote about it to me, you know. That a snow leopard and other bandits attacked her.”

Chanyeol’s eyes were so confused, between Yixing’s words and his actions. “So I confirmed it for you when I shifted?” he realized, remembering Yixing’s gasp when he had shifted. Not a gasp of horror, but a gasp of recognition.

Yixing nodded. “But Ma’s tough. I’m glad she wasn’t able to kill you.”

“Me too.” Chanyeol’s thumb stroked over Yixing’s hand, and he enveloped it with his other. “So am I forgiven?”

Yixing thought about how quiet his life had been until Chanyeol came along. He had come to seek peace and quiet in the mountains of Snowdale, but had found loneliness and isolation instead. With Chanyeol, he found his belongingness in the people had been there all along. Shuffling backward, he tugged Chanyeol into bed with him.

Wordlessly Chanyeol followed Yixing’s lead, keeping their hands entwined even as he maneuvered his long limbs under the covers. Yixing watched the rays of the setting sun kiss Chanyeol’s silver hair, but the real warmth of the sun radiated from Chanyeol’s body. He sighed happily as Chanyeol tangled Yixing’s legs with his own.

But Chanyeol still seemed nervous, waiting, and Yixing realized he still hadn’t given him an answer. “Yes, Chanyeol. It may make meeting the parents more difficult but I trust you won’t hurt me, ever.”

“Oh gods I had hoped beyond hope,” Chanyeol said, almost deflating into the bed with relief. Yixing smiled at how cute he was and then Chanyeol’s lips were pressing insistently against his own. He gasped and Chanyeol took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, throwing a leg over Yixing’s to draw him closer. Yixing too wanted to be closer, burrowing an arm under Chanyeol’s neck and hugging him. His chest felt warm, fluttery, happy.

Yixing pulled away for air and Chanyeol chased him with his lips. Met with Yixing’s neck instead, Chanyeol blew a raspberry that left Yixing giggling breathlessly. “I hate to be the responsible one, but I don’t think I am up for much of anything, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol let out a playful whine but replied, “I’ll wait for you, as long as it takes, Yixing.” He pressed another kiss to Yixing’s lips and snuggled into him.

Together they were swept away by the Dream King, knowing they had each other for life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness if you reached here you are a real hero. Thanks for reading, and comments/kudos are much appreciated. <3 I am writing a follow-up to this, since I couldn't justify sexytimes during the actual storyline... but we'll see how it goes. Stay tuned!
> 
> You can yell at me on [Tumblr](http://lady-serendipity.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ladyyserendipit) <3!


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